Born at the Right Time
by heyjupiter
Summary: This is a Brotherhood-centric AU retelling of X1 and X2 with an attempt to reconcile them with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And also to throw in an original character. I'm not touching X3, though. Completed. Gambit/OC, Magneto/Mystique.
1. Walk with Me out on the Wire

STORY SUMMARY: This is a Brotherhood-centric AU retelling of X1 and X2 with an attempt to reconcile them with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And also to throw in an original character. I'm not touching X3, though.

STORY NOTES: This is all pretty shamelessly indulgent hurt/comfort fic. What can I say, sometimes that's just what you feel like writing (or reading). Oh, and I didn't write out Gambit's accent because, um, I think it's annoying to read it that way. You all know what he sounds like without me spelling "that" as "dat," right? Okay, great. I did throw in some French and Japanese words, though. (Big ups to Google Translator.)

Also I completely disregarded Lady Deathstryke's comics backstory since a) it's never mentioned at all in the movie, and b) her comics backstory is seriously weird. I also pulled in some of Gambit's comics backstory, but not the time travel and stuff.

COPYRIGHT NOTES: Like, duh, the X-Men and the Brotherhood all belong to Marvel and Fox. And Stan Lee. Oh, and "Born at the Right Time" is a Paul Simon song title.

ET CETERA: I hope you like it! Please review it if you did, or if you just want to tell me it's lame.

Chapter 1: Walk with Me out on the Wire (Gambit)

"So, Magneto, am I hearing this correctly? You want us to go out and pick up a girl?"

Magneto fixes a serious gaze on Gambit. "You do understand the importance of this particular young woman?"

"_Oui, oui_, we have to get her before William Stryker does. Do not worry, I have never had trouble convincing a lady to come home with me."

Mystique enters the room and laughs at the last of Gambit's statement. "You ready, Cajun?"

"Of course, _ma cher_."

Mystique morphs into a peach-skinned, blonde-haired version of herself and hands him a file folder. "Well, let's go then," she said. "I have to be back at Kelly's office early tomorrow."

The two drive in companionable silence to a motel in Maryland, not far from the house they were using as a hideout. Gambit tries to turn on the radio, but Mystique quickly clicks it back off. Mystique parks the car and changes again, to a tall black woman with dreadlocks. Gambit puts on his sunglasses and follows her out. She walks confidently up to room 34 and knocks, laconically. They heard a brief rustling sound and footsteps. The room's occupant apparently peers out the peephole and is pleased with what she saw, because she cries out "Roxie! Hey!" and throws open the door. "You're early!" she says. "I'm not ready yet. Come in."

The two mutants enter her motel room and pull the door shut behind them. She is short, barely five feet tall, and she looks even shorter because she's barefoot. Her chin-length black hair is damp, and she wears a plain pink tank top and tight black jeans.

Seeing Gambit, she asks, "Oh! Who's your friend?"

"The name is Remy LeBeau," he says, extending a hand. "_Enchante_." She grins and shakes it.

"Nori Oyama. _Hajimemashite," _she says, with a quick questioning glance at Mystique, who shrugs. She continues, "So, Rox, how on earth did you get ready so quickly? We just got back from the club like five minutes ago."

Mystique shrugs again. Gambit barrels on, "You're Noriko Oyama, right?"

She nods. "Yes," she says, politely.

"You're Yuriko Oyama's sister?"

This time Nori jerks her head up and looks Gambit hard in the face, then glances at Mystique for reassurance. "Yes… how do you know my sister? You… you haven't seen her, have you?" The hope in her voice completely charms Gambit.

"Well, not exactly, _cherie_," he says.

"What do you mean, not exactly? What is this about?" She's still polite, but the veil over her fear is thin.

"We don't have much time," Mystique says. She morphs to her natural state and Nori gasps.

"R-Rox? How long have you been able to do that?"

"I'm not your friend Roxanne. My name is Mystique. We've come here to warn you."

Nori crosses her arms over her chest. "Warn me about what," she says flatly. She's looking regretfully at the cell phone lying on the bed, just out of reach, and she starts sidling back toward it.

"Your sister Yuriko has been kidnapped by the government and put into a secret experimentation program. We believe that you are next on their list."

"What? I—is she okay?"

"She's alive," Mystique says tersely.

"Well, where is she? How do you know? What do they want with me?"

Mystique sighs. "Look. We don't have much time. We can answer all of your questions eventually, but you have to come with us now."

"Come with you where?"

"Girl. We don't have time to argue. Stryker's men could be coming for you tonight, and you do not want to end up in their custody."

The small woman glances between the two mutants. "This isn't a joke?"

Gambit apologetically hands her the file folder, and she flips through its contents. The color drains out of her face.

"Well. Let me put my shoes on, then."

Mystique nods. "Quickly." Nori puts on her shoes and coat, then begins sweeping things into her messenger bag.

"Leave the phone. Leave your wallet. Leave anything they can use to track you."

"Uh, okay. Can I just call-?"

"No!" Mystique snaps. Gambit makes an apologetic little moue at Nori, and she bites her lip and grabs her bag and guitar.

Mystique casts a brief glare at the guitar, but says nothing. She follows them out to their car, and Mystique opens the trunk. "Get in," she says.

Nori looks up at her warily.

Gambit holds his empty hands out soothingly. "Look, _cherie_, I promise you we ain't gonna hurt you. It's just in case anybody's out looking for you. We ain't goin' far."

"Uh… okay, I guess," Nori says, sizing them up. Her hands are shaking, but she's clearly decided that she may as well trust these two—or at least that fighting them would be fruitless. She's right; Mystique would knock her out if the girl hesitated any longer.

She gamely climbs into the trunk. "I put a pillow in there for you," Gambit says brightly.

"It isn't a long drive," Mystique says, and she gently closes the trunk over the girl.

"That went pretty well, I think," Gambit says. Mystique shrugs.

When they pull back up into the garage, Gambit lets Nori out of the trunk and gallantly offers her a hand. "Thanks," she says quietly.

"Hey, _mon chaton_, I know this is strange for you, but you're gonna be alright, _oui?_" She gives him a small, uneven smile. He matches it with a huge grin. "Now, come on inside and meet everybody."

He carries her guitar in for her and takes her to a bedroom on the house's basement. "You can put your things here for now, all right?" She carefully sets her bag down, but keeps her coat on.

Gambit nods and takes her further into the house. He knocks on a stainless steel door, and it swings open on its own. Magneto, wearing a charcoal sweater and black slacks, stands to greet them. "Ah, Miss Oyama. Welcome."

She smiles at him tentatively. "Thank you…"

"I'm known as Magneto."

"Thank you, Magneto."

He nods. "Please, have a seat." He waves his hand and a chair pulls away from the wall to directly in front of his desk.

She doesn't react to the use of mutant power, which pleases Magneto. She also doesn't sit, but glances back at Gambit, who is standing just behind her. He smiles reassuringly, and Magneto quirks his lips. "Gambit, you may stay if you'd like," he adds.

Gambit pulls his own chair up next to Nori's. "It's all right, _cherie_," he says sunnily. He wants to provide balance for Magneto, who can be... intimidating. This poor girl has already been intimidated enough today, he thinks.

She sits down and draws her knees up to her chest tightly. She peers up at Magneto expectantly. She's clearly still wary.

"So, my dear, I trust you read the information Mystique gave you regarding William Stryker?"

"I, uh, skimmed it," she says.

"We were kinda in a hurry," Gambit adds.

"Well. As you know, your sister Yuriko disappeared three years ago." She bites her lip and nods. "She was abducted by William Stryker, a U. S. army colonel who has been experimenting with mutants for some time now. He uses a serum to brainwash them and use them for his own means. Your sister's healing abilities are… quite valuable to Stryker. He's using her as his personal assistant and bodyguard."

"My sister's a lawyer," Nori whispers.

Magneto gives her a sad smile.

"The picture I saw, she… she had claws? Or…"

Magneto nods. "Stryker had her skeleton coated with a metal called adamantium, and he added those as a bonus."

Nori rocks back and forth slightly in her chair. "So, can you help her…?"

He sighs. "We would like to. It's complicated, you understand. He is quite a powerful man."

She says nothing. "I am sorry to have to tell you all this, my dear."

"And… and what…" she trails off.

"It appears that Stryker has recently become aware of your gifts, and would like to add you to his collection."

"My gifts?"

"Your mutant abilities."

"There must be some confusion," she says. "I'm not a mutant."

"My dear, you are safe here. We are all of us mutants. You don't have to lie any more."

She shakes her head. "No, I'm not a mutant. Don't get me wrong—I believe in mutant equality, but… I'm not one."

He looks exasperated. "You are."

"Wouldn't I know if I were? What is my ability even supposed to be?"

"Well, now, perhaps you wouldn't know… fascinating. But you definitely have a gift. I can feel it working right now."

She looks to Gambit, who shrugs, and back to Magneto, who says, "Miss Oyama, you have the ability to magnify the abilities of other mutants."

"Oh," she says, disappointedly.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of—" Magneto starts.

"I'm not ashamed! I was just hoping for, like, flying or something."

Gambit laughs, and Magneto gives a small smile. "I suppose it isn't a very entertaining ability. But you could be a great asset, my dear."

"To Stryker," she says flatly.

He gives a small tilt of his head. "Indeed. But, hopefully, to the Brotherhood of Mutants."

She narrows her eyes. "And you, I presume, represent the Brotherhood of Mutants?"

"Yes. But make no mistake—we offer you asylum regardless of whether or not you ultimately decide to join us."

She makes long eye contact with Magneto before nodding. "Thank you. I appreciate it. But, um, what is the Brotherhood of Mutants?"

Magneto runs his hand through his silver hair and asks, "My dear, would you mind waiting until the morning for an answer to your question? I assure you I will be happy to provide you with the answers you seek, but I think it has been a rather long day for all of us."

"Oh… um, yes, I guess."

He smiles. "Sleep well, Miss Oyama. And please—for your own safety, stay in your bedroom until someone comes to get you in the morning."

She nods. "All right. Good night, Magneto."

"Gambit, would you walk Miss Oyama back to her room, please?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"It's Nori, by the way," she adds, as she stands up to follow Gambit.

When they're out in the basement hallway, Gambit squeezes Nori's shoulder affectionately.

"Is he always like that?" she whispers.

"Who, Magneto?" he laughs. "No, he's usually even more dramatic. But he is a good man, _non_? You'll see. You can trust him."

They reach her new bedroom, and Gambit opens the door for her. "Here's your room, safe and sound. It's a suite, so it has its own bathroom. Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you."

He bows and kisses her hand. "Then I bid you good night, _cherie_."

"Good night, Gambit."

NOTES: Song title is from "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen.


	2. She's Leaving Home

Chapter 2: She's Leaving Home (Nori)

She flicks on the light and pulls the door shut behind her. _What a weird-ass day_, she thinks, and she mentally reviews her situation. _I don't know where I am. No one knows where I am. I don't have a phone. I'm a mutant, apparently. My sister's some kind of brainwashed zombie with a metal skeleton. Not great, Nori. Not great. _She laughs aloud, a high-pitched, brittle laughter. She curls up on the bed and turns herself over to hysterical laughter for four minutes, then takes a deep breath.

_Get it together, girl_. She sits up and surveys the contents of her bag. Some makeup. A hairbrush. Extra underwear. Seven granola bars, in various levels of smashed-up. Two-thirds of a bag of trail mix. A copy of _Ms. _magazine. A beat-up paperback of _The Poisonwood Bible_. Three different kinds of breath mints. A half-full (or half-empty?) stainless steel water bottle. Her iPod. She recalls Mystique's warning not to bring anything that can be traced. Can you trace an iPod? She doesn't think so—it doesn't have any Internet access or anything, but she resolves not to use it just in case. She's still not 100% sure she buys this whole Stryker story, but for now she's going with a "better safe than sorry" approach. She doesn't seem to have pajamas, but she's slept in her clothes before. She does pull on a hooded sweatshirt. It's freezing in the basement.

She visits the bathroom and discovers a still-wrapped toothbrush and toothpaste sitting on the sink. _How considerate_, she thinks. She brushes her teeth, and tucks herself into bed. The sheets smell clean, and the comforter is warm, but she lies awake for a long time. She eventually falls into a fitful sleep, and awakens early. Remembering Magneto's admonition not to leave her room, she brushes her teeth and hair and puts on some eyeliner. She makes her bed, then sits on the edge of it and flips through her magazine. She looks at every page but doesn't really process anything.

Finally, she hears a knock on her door. "Come in," she says, then wonders if she should have checked to see who it was. Of course, the last time she opened the door she would have sworn it was to her friend Roxie, and not a shapeshifting mutant, so, whatever.

Magneto opens the door, again wearing a charcoal sweater. She thinks maybe it's a different sweater than from yesterday, but she's not sure. "Good morning, Nori. How did you sleep?" he asks courteously.

Her mouth twists into a grin, "Fine, I suppose… all things considered."

He pauses. "I am sure this must be a very strange experience for you."

At that she throws her head back and laughs. "Burning Man was a very strange experience. This is like, off the charts."

"Burning Man?"

"It's, uh, a music festival. Kind of. At the end of it they burn a giant sculpture of a man. It's not important," she concludes.

"Ah. Well. If you are ready for breakfast, I believe I can provide some more answers for you this morning."

"That sounds delicious."

She followed him down the hallway and up the stairs into a fairly normal-looking kitchen. He gestures toward the refrigerator and cabinets. "We normally take turns cooking, but we haven't quite been keeping to the schedule lately since so few of us are here. There should be some cereal and some bread and things. Please help yourself to whatever you would like."

She investigates and realizes she actually is hungry. She makes some peanut butter toast. "Do you want some?" she asks, before putting the bread away.

"No, thank you. Would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some."

"There is also coffee—"

"No, tea would be great. Thank you."

He carries two cups of tea into the next room, which contains a fairly large dining table. Gambit is already seated there, though he appears to be nearly finished with his meal.

He smiles at her. "Morning, _cherie_. Morning, Magneto."

She smiles and returns his greeting; Magneto merely nods. She follows Magneto, and they sit near Gambit, but not next to him.

"So, my first question is… how many people are in this Brotherhood of Mutants? It's more than just you two, right?"

"You met Mystique last night," Magneto reminds her.

"Well, she's a sister."

Gambit chuckles at that, but Magneto ignores it.

"Membership in the Brotherhood is open to all mutants. There are only a few of us in the area, but many of us worldwide."

"Okay. And… what does the Brotherhood of Mutants do? Are you guys like a mutant Kiwanis Club or something?"

Gambit laughs aloud, and Magneto gives him a pointed look. "Hey, I'm on my way out," he says. "I will see you both later, _oui_?"

"Be careful, Gambit," Magneto says. Nori lifts her eyebrows at that, and lifts a hand to wave goodbye.

"The Brotherhood of Mutants," Magneto continues, "is an organization with the ultimate goal of equal rights for all mutants. We assist mutants in need, such as yourself."

She meets his eyes and says nothing.

"I won't mince words, Nori. We are not a Kiwanis Club. We certainly partake in illegal activities. But while you stay here with us, we won't ask you to do anything with which you are uncomfortable."

"Okay."

"However, while you are here, I would like you to practice using your mutant powers."

"Well, sure, but I don't know how to practice something that I don't know how to do in the first place."

"I'll help you, my dear."

"What's your mutant power? I mean, I guess something to do with magnets, right?"

"I can manipulate and control magnetic fields."

"Hence all the metal around here, I suppose."

"Indeed."

"But Magneto's not your real name, right?"

"Magneto is a truer name than the one my human parents gave me."

She sips her tea. "So… does everyone in the Brotherhood have some kind of code name?"

"Yes, everyone in the Brotherhood has elected to adopt a new name that more accurately reflects their identity."

Her lips twitch at that. So pretentious.

"It would probably be best if you chose a new name as well, even if only because Stryker's men are looking for you and they have surveillance in many places."

"Oh. Um. Can I think about it?"

"Of course. Did you get enough to eat?" he asks, nodding toward her empty plate.

"Yes, thanks." She looks to him for a cue, and he stands and carries his cup back to the kitchen.

"Everyone here does their own dishes," he says. "Or at least, they are meant to."

"I can do that, no problem." When her plate and cup are clean on the drying rack, he leads her back downstairs, into the office she saw last night. Again, he sits at his desk, and she sits across from him.

"Now, if you have no further questions, I'd like to begin working with you to train your powers."

"Okay." She looks at him expectantly, and he smiles.

"Well, my dear, your gift is a part of you. You should intuitively know how to use it."

She closes her eyes and concentrates, her brow furrowing. "How am I supposed to know if it's working?"

"You don't feel anything?" She shakes her head. "All right. I'll use my powers to levitate this metal ball. As I feel your ability work, I'll let the ball raise accordingly."

Nori pulls herself into a cross-legged position and stares at the ball.

"Reach out with your senses and see if you can detect my power."

_Weird_, she thinks. _Is he sure about this? _She thinks about her other mutant friends. She realizes she's never really asked them how they use their powers. She always assumed it just came to them, like breathing. She tries to clear her mind, and remembers some meditation techniques one of her therapists taught her. She slows her breathing, and thinks about a place where she feels safe. She imagines herself in the crowd of a concert, listening to music and feeling connected with the crowd. But abruptly, she thinks of the venue being invaded by brainwashed soldiers. She sees herself taken away, and she shakes her head and opens her eyes, to see Magneto looking at her, unimpressed.

Nori sighs. "I'm sorry, I'm really trying." He pats her hand.

"I know, my dear. Let's keep trying for a little longer." She nods and takes his hand. At the skin-to-skin contact, the metal ball rises a little higher. She smiles and started humming a little, and the ball gently rises higher. She stops humming, her eyes grow unfocused. _Whoa_, she thinks. She does feel connected, now. She feels Magneto's power, kind of. She feels energy flowing though her and she braids it to his. She braids and braids and suddenly realizes she's out of material, and the world goes black.

NOTES: Chapter title is from "She's Leaving Home" by The Beatles.


	3. You Don't Have to Live Like a Refugee

Chapter 3: You Don't Have to Live Like a Refugee (Magneto)

Magneto, still reeling from the abrupt jolt to his ability, winces at the sound of Nori's head making contact with the metal desk, and stands up to check on her.

"Nori? Are you all right?" he asks, gently shaking her. She makes no response, and he frowns. She's breathing and has a pulse. He carries her over to the steel-and-leather loveseat near the entrance to his office and gently lays her on it. He sits down on the similarly styled chair opposite the loveseat, with a steel coffee table between them, and begins to study reconnaissance for a potential mission.

After a few hours she turns slightly and makes a small sound. Magneto observes this with relief—she was asleep, then, and not comatose. He tries again to wake her. She comes to with a soft groan.

"Magneto?"

"Nori, are you alright?"

"Just… really tired." Indeed, he feels her exhaustion. Her eyelashes flutter and she falls back to sleep.

Magneto sighs inwardly. She was not going to be much use in combat if a single use of her power put her to sleep for hours. Yet, he reminds himself, he might only need her to use it once. And who knew what a little more training could do?

Noon rolls around and Nori sleeps on. He takes a light blanket out of his bedroom and covers her with it, then goes to eat lunch.

When he returns, she is sitting upright with the blanket pulled over her. She had pulled a copy of de Tocqueville's _Democracy in America_ off his bookshelf and is reading it.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you are awake. How do you feel?"

She shrugs. "I'm okay. My forehead hurts." He notes the bump from where she had hit her head on his desk.

"Let me get you some ice. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm starving actually. Which is weird, since all I did today was sleep."

He shakes his head. "Beginning to focus on your mutant ability may speed up your metabolism. It draws a lot of energy from you. Why don't we go upstairs and get some ice and food?"

She rises to her feet and followed him. "Do you have a sweater or something I could borrow? I'm so cold."

"Ah. Of course. Write a list of your sizes and I'll have Gambit get you some new clothing. But for today, of course, I'll get you something." He stops outside a door about halfway down the hallway and returns with a black sweater. "It's too big for you, but perhaps it will serve."

"Thanks," she says, and pulled it on over her sweatshirt. The sweater still comes halfway down her thighs and gives her a lumpy look. Nori poked around the kitchen and made a grilled cheese sandwich and a salad, which she eats with relish, while holding an ice pack to her forehead.

"So, how did you guys know I was a mutant before I did?"

"A colleague of mine has remarkable telepathic abilities, and he routinely searches for mutants."

"A member of your Brotherhood?"

Magneto's mouth tightens slightly. "No. But a… an old friend. But actually, we found out about you through Stryker's files, who broke into my colleague Xavier's database. Stryker was of course interested in your ability, and especially because your sister has been so valuable to him."

Nori chews her sandwich thoughtfully. "Okay. So, what about you guys? Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't see any other mutant refugees around here. Why did you pluck me out of his grasp? Which, thank you, by the way."

"We have the ultimate goal of bringing down Stryker's entire organization, but you're quite right. You're the first mutant we've preemptively taken into our custody before Styker could. Partly, this is because we only recently discovered many of Stryker's files. Partly, this is because we realized your travels would bring you close both to us and to Stryker this week. And, I will be honest, partly this is because we hoped you might contribute your abilities to our cause."

"To the cause of bringing down Stryker?"

"Among other things, yes."

"And Stryker has Yuri?"

He nods.

"Well, I guess I'm in. Assuming I ever figure out how to use my power."

"Of course you will. Are you ready to practice some more?"

"I suppose so."

"Good," he says, and leads her back down to his office. He uses his powers to move the coffee table aside, hoping to avoid further injury to his ward, and gestures for her to sit on the loveseat. She does, and she tucks the blanket around her. She reaches out to hold his hand and closes her eyes.

"I think… I think before, I was trying to meditate and keep my mind blank, and it didn't really work. But then I started humming and thought of a song I liked, and it made me happy… and that's when I fainted. But, I mean, I sing songs all the time and don't usually faint. So it's not music."

"It could be linked to the way the song makes you feel," he says. "Mutant powers are usually triggered during times of heightened emotions."

She laughs. "Heightened emotions? I've been on anti-depressants for most of my adult life, so I'm kind of new to those."

"Are you taking them now?" he asks, sharply.

She pulls her hand back and folds it with her other and says, "No, I've been off them for, for a few years now. What, this isn't all in your file about me? It's not a secret. I wrote like fifty songs about it."

"Which medication did you take?"

She crosses her arms and leans back, uncomfortable with his intensity, and says, "Uh, I started on Prozac in… college, and then, like, 8 years ago I switched to Zoloft. And then I started to taper off of it a few years ago."

He nods. "Interesting… perhaps the medication interfered with the manifestation of your ability. I think you are on to something, Nori. Perhaps try to focus on something that makes you feel very happy, while also trying to perceive my mutant ability."

"Like Peter Pan! You can fly, you can fly!," she sings.

He looks blankly at her. "Uh… never mind, I guess. In the movie… they had to think of happy thoughts… to fly… Tinker Belle?" She laughs. "I guess you're not a fan."

"I am unfamiliar with most children's movies."

She bites her lip to keep from laughing. "Right. Well…" she says, and extends her hand. She closes her eyes and hums again. Her happiness is tangible.

She starts singing:

_He is surrounded by the sound_

_The sound_

_Cattle in the marketplace_

_Scatterlings and orphanages_

_He looks around, around_

_He sees angels in the architecture_

_Spinning in infinity_

_He says amen and hallelujah!_

_A hymn?_ He wonders.Well, as long as it seems to be working for her, no harm done.

Abruptly, she drops his hand and the connection between them is lost. But she's still awake and grinning triumphantly. "That was it, right?"

He smiles. "Yes, my dear, that was it. How do you feel?"

"Okay. A little shaky, but it isn't like before."

"Do you want to try again, or do you need a break?"

"I'll try again." And again, she sings:

_If you'll be my bodyguard_

_I can be your long lost pal_

_I can call you Betty_

_And Betty when you call me_

_You can call me Al_

She pulls back and keeps humming. Now that it has started, Magneto feels the emotional link with her continue, even after she is no longer actively using her gift.

"Very well done, my dear."

She ducks her head and smiles. Magneto is pleased to see her enjoying the praise, and pleased to have found such a useful mutant.

"Tell me something, Nori. When you're magnifying my power like that, how does my power feel to you?"

She frowns. "It's kind of, I guess it's like, when I listen to orchestral music I always immediately pick out the violin part, because I play violin. And sometimes it's hard for me to step back and hear the whole thing, as a piece. And it's even harder for me to pick out, like, the flute part. But if I listened to a bunch of flute solos, I think it would get easier."

He isn't interested in simile. He wants to know what he's dealing with. "But can you tell what I'm doing? Can you tell what I'm thinking?"

"No, well, it's like... I can see the energy. In my mind. There's like, background energy. And then your energy is like really bright. And my energy is in my eyes and I can fix it with yours. If I know what I'm looking for. I guess."

"But you cannot read my thoughts?"

"No. What? Can you read my thoughts? Is that like even a possibility?"

"Some mutants do have the power of telepathy, so yes, it is I do not have that power, and I do not believe you do, either."

"Oh. So...?"

"But I believe you are an empath of some kind."

"Meaning..."

"Empaths have a mutant ability that in some way involves the emotions of others. Some are extremely perceptive of the emotions of others. Some are projective empaths, meaning they project their own emotions on to others. Some can manipulate this to control the emotions of people around them."

"Really? Can like, a lot of people do that?"

"I believe the percentage of empaths in the general population is quite low."

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure everyone I've ever dated has had that ability," she says lightly.

Magneto looks at her darkly. "Trust me, you would know if that were the case."

She quirks her mouth in a way that's already familiar to Magneto, a way that tells him she thinks he is amusing. He isn't sure whether to be irritated by her naiveté or charmed by her innocence. He has almost settled on charmed, when he grows concerned that she is manipulating his emotions and forces himself to return to a noncommittal state.

"So. You think I'm an empath?" she asks.

"I think you are a projective empath, and I think it is linked to your ability to strengthen the powers of others."

"So I give you extra mutant power, but I also give you a dose of whatever I'm feeling at the moment?"

"I believe that to be the case, yes."

"Huh. So, what am I feeling... now?" She makes a face of concentration that he can't help but laugh at.

"No!" she exclaims. "I was trying to do sad."

"Perhaps more experimentation is in order," he says. He does not say that he hopes she does not often feel sad; it is a fact of life that she likely will.

She closes her eyes and starts humming again, a different song this time, and he does feel a melancholy spike to his perception of the metal around him.

"Remarkable," he breathes.

Magneto loves using his power, though he rarely stops to think about it any more. Feeling it magnified through Nori's power makes him appreciate it again.

She smiles at him. "Huh. I guess I am a mutant after all."

He wants her to practice on him more, but he senses her fatigue and decides to give her a few hours' rest.

"You may stay here, if you'd like, but I think that's all the practicing we'll do for the afternoon," he says, as he moves toward his desk.

"Oh. All right," she says. "Hey-Magneto?" He can tell without looking that she is worried. "Uh, Mystique told me not to bring my cell phone, or anything, but, do you think I could, um, call my mom or someone? Just to tell her that I'm, um, okay?"

"Do you think that would be wise?" he asks.

"Well... she's been through so much, since Yuri disappeared, and if it's me, too..."

"But can your mother be trusted?"

"What? Of course."

"If William Stryker comes to her door and demands to know where her mutant daughter is, would your mother keep quiet?"

"My mother has two mutant daughters, and she loves both of us. And Yuri wasn't a surprise depressive mutant, either." She bites her lip. "Please. Just. I won't tell her anything about where we are, which, I don't even know where we are."

"If you write a letter to your mother, and if you let me read it to make sure it maintains the security of the Brotherhood of Mutants, I will see to it that it is delivered."

Faintly, he feels her anxiety dissipate.. It relaxes him in multiple ways. She is nothing like Charles; her gift lacks subtlety. He does not think she can manipulate him. Not intentionally.

"Thank you," she says. "And, um, do you have some paper I could use?"

He produces a yellow legal pad and a well-made black foutnain pen from his desk and hands them to her.

"Also, um, Mystique told me not to bring anything with me that people could track me with? But I found my iPod in my bag, is that okay?"

"A portable MP3 player?"

"Yes?"

"Does it have any internet or telecommunications capabilities?"

"No, just it has a calendar on it I think, but I never use that."

"So... how do you think anyone could use it to track you?"

"If... if it has a chip in it? Or something?"

He looks at her skeptically.

"Look, I went to college for music. I don't know how anything works in the real world. I just thought I should check."

"Well, I admire your caution. How long have you had this device?"

"Like, a year? Or so."

"And did you receive it under any suspicious circumstance?"

"Uh, I bought it at an Apple Store, and those are always a little creepy to me. But other than that... no."

"Then I believe it would be safe for you to continue using it, yes."

"Oh, good," she says happily. She takes the pad and pen and retreats back to her own bedroom.

She returns perhaps an hour later, bearing two handwritten notes:

_[Oka-san],_

_I love love you and I have to tell you that I am alive and I am okay but I cannot tell you where I am. But know that I am fine and I am thinking of you every day. Please do not look for me. Do not tell anyone you have heard from me. It is our secret. _

_Love always,_

_[Noriko_]

_Raerae,_

_Listen. I have to tell you that I am alive and I am safe but for reasons I cannot really explain I am hiding. Please just imagine that I am the protagonist of some kind of Keanu Reeves movie. _

_Please don't tell anyone you have heard from me. Please don't look for me. Please forgive me. _

_I miss you._

_I. Love. You. All. Ways._

_Kiki_

He reads the letters, then looks at her. Her eye makeup is smudged, but she seems composed. It's so rare that anyone in the Brotherhood has any family or friends outside of it. He hopes she can forget these people soon.

He points at the first letter. "Is this Japanese?"

"Yes... it's just 'mother' and then my name at the end. So she knows it's me."

"And this other letter?"

"It's for my best friend. Rachael. I signed it Kiki 'cause that's what she always calls me."

The third page in the notepad has two New York addresses listed. Misaki Oyama and Rachael Shapiro.

"I'll take care of these," he tells her. He understands the psychic value of these letters, but wonders if he should actually send them. Would Stryker be so paranoid as to monitor all paper mail to Nori's family? He will certainly wait until after all missing person interviews have been conducted. He tucks the letters into a desk drawer.

She retreats to his sofa and reads more de Tocqueville, but she drifts into a light sleep after a few pages. He studies his machine schematics for perhaps the one thousandth time, and she awakes with a start. Briefly, he wonders if she can read his mind after all, but then he realizes that someone has knocked on his door. Gambit, he presumes, and he lets the door swing open.

Nori smiles up at Gambit as he enters, and he returns the look. Her black hair is mussed, as is her eye makeup, and she's wearing a sweater over a sweatshirt, but Gambit appears to find it all endearing. Magneto isn't at all sure if Gambit is legitimately interested in pursuing Nori, idly flirting, or trying to welcome the girl. It's probably a combination of all three.

"I got some presents for you today, _cherie_," he says. "I left them in your room. I hope you don't mind."

She stands up and fluffs out Magneto's sweater. "A new outfit? But this one is so flattering."

He looks at her appreciatively. "I ain't gonna tell a woman she don't look good, Nori. But now you've got a few more options, _non?_"

On her way out, Nori asks, "Are you two hungry? I could make dinner for everyone."

"That would be fine, thank you, Nori," Magneto says. She's adapting better than he would have expected.

NOTES: The lyrics are from "You Can Fly" from Disney's Peter Pan and "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon, off the album Graceland. Also, I tried to paste in Japanese kanji but the formatting got lost. Oh well.


	4. Raised on Robbery

Chapter 4: Raised on Robbery (Gambit)

Nori is wearing her same black jeans, but a new thermal shirt and sweater. Gambit is glad he was the one to get new clothes for her; neither Magneto nor Mystique seem to notice the cold. In his years out of Louisana, Gambit has learned the importance of layering. She has her headphones in and is shimmying over the stirfry when Gambit enters the kitchen.

"Smells good, _cherie_," he says. She half-turns and pulls out her headphones.

"Thanks!"

"What'cha listening to?"

"Paul Simon. One of my very favorites."

"Oh? You know, I read that you were a musician, too."

She shrugs. "I've been known to sing a song or two."

"Well, today I went out to get one of your albums for myself."

She laughs. "Did you even find a store that had any of my stuff?"

"I sure did," he says, holding up 2 CD cases.

"Well. What did you get?"

He displays the CD covers to her. They're entitled _Heartbreak Hostel_ and _Diffident Times_.

"Interesting. Well, what did you think?"

"I haven't listened to them yet. I thought I should talk to the artist herself, first."

Her mouth turns up, and she returns to the stirfry. "Well, _Heartbreak Hostel_ came about during a really difficult breakup. Like, a restraining order breakup." She pauses. "Just so we're clear, it was me getting a restraining order against him, not the other way around. It's kind of a favorite among broken-hearted college girls. And _Diffident Times_ was, well, not too long ago. I started writing it when I started transitioning off of antidepressants. It's kind of a cool record, I think. I started experimenting more with layering in violin and mandolin and other stuff."

"You play all those instruments?"

"Yeah. I went to school for violin. I'm, um, pretty good at it. Better than I am at guitar, really. But guitar lends itself better to the kinds of stories I want to tell. And mandolin... I kind of picked it up on a whim. It's not too different from guitar, really. I've also dabbled with bass and, um, ukelele."

"Wow, _cherie_. Now, tell me, do you play any happy music with all those instruments?"

She laughs. "Ummm. My fans don't really like happy music, generally. I don't know. I had a song in the soundtrack of that teen movie. It was like a modern day version of _War and Peace_. My first few albums are basically riot grrrl anger folk-rock. My last album, Katahdin, was fairly happy, I suppose."

"You seem like a pretty happy girl, _cherie_, so how come your music ain't?"

"Well, I'm... I mean, weird circumstances aside, I'm happier these last few years than I have been in awhile. I... well, I think my therapist gets a lot of the credit. But also I think... I don't think I would be the person I am if I couldn't make music. It gives me an outlet for all my anger and sorrow and my, you know, whatever. And people _listen_ to it. It's pretty cool."

"You wanna sing a song for me? I'll listen."

"Maybe after dinner, Gambit. My best work isn't _a capella_. And, anyway, I'm not sure you'd like it. What kind of music do you usually listen to?"

"I like any music a pretty woman is singing to me."

She laughed. "Do all those lines work for you, Gambit?"

"More often than you'd think, _cherie_. But they're not working for you, _non?"_

She shakes her head "no," but she's smiling.

"All right, all right, Gambit's gonna take it slow. I'm from Louisiana, in case you didn't notice, and I like Cajun Zydeco music. Eh... I like Lynyrd Skynrd. I like the Boss."

"Oh! What's your favorite Springsteen song?"

"Oh... I think... 'Dancing in the Dark.'"

"Really?" she beams. "That one is amazing, right? But I think my favorite is 'Thunder Road.'"

"Bruce Springsteen, he knows how to be lonely."

"Yes! Exactly." She turns the heat off the stove. "Did you ever listen to _Graceland_? Paul Simon?"

"Can't say I have."

"You know, I think that you would like it. He draws from a lot of African and zydeco influences. And that man, he fucking knows how to be lonely. But he also knows, I don't know, I think he knows everything. I think he is probably the wisest person on the planet."

"_Oui_? Then I think I should check him out, right?"

"Who is the wisest person on the planet?" Magneto inquires.

Nori turns. "Oh, I didn't hear you come in! I was just talking about Paul Simon."

Magneto frowns. "As in Simon & Garfunkel?"

"Yes! You know him?"

"I vaguely remember Simon & Garfunkel's pacifist platitudes from the 60s."

"Well. After breaking up with Art Garfunkel, I think Paul Simon only grew as a songwriter. I think he just really understands the human condition... the loneliness and the love and the hope, and, just, everything."

"Then perhaps he should run for president," Magneto says, snidely.

Nori chooses not to address his tone, or perhaps doesn't notice. "You know, I think that if we looked for our political leaders to have more emotional intelligence and wisdom, we might be better off. But you know, if he were president, he'd probably stop making music, and I think the world would be poorer for that."

Gambit's eyes flick anxiously between Magneto and Nori.

"Well, anyway, dinner's done," she says brightly, before Magneto can respond. "Uh, I'm vegetarian, so I didn't cook any meat. I hope that's okay."

"Looks just fine to me, _cherie_," Gambit says. Magneto nods.

The three of them fill their plates with rice and vegetable stirfry and file into the living room.

"Is Mystique coming?" Nori asks.

"Mystique is occupied," Magneto says.

"She don't come back here very much," Gambit says. "Might be awhile before you see her again."

Nori chatters throughout dinner, which Gambit welcomes. Magneto mostly maintains silence. Gambit is a little uneasy about this. He genuinely likes the new girl, but he isn't sure what Magneto plans to do with her. He doesn't really see her as a member of the Brotherhood. She's sweet, and Gambit doesn't remember the last time anyone was sweet to him. But he isn't sure how long sweetness can survive in this environment. He quietly pledges to help her stay that way as long as possible. Abruptly, he realizes Nori is waiting for some kind of response from him.

"I'm sorry, what was that, _cherie_?"

"I asked how long you've been working with Magneto."

"Oh, roundabout a couple years now. On and off."

"What do you do when you're off?"

He shrugs. "Help out with the family business, mostly."

"What's the family business? It's not used cars, is it?"

"Nah, nothing so vile as that. Just an honest thief," he says cheerfully.

"Hmm," she says. "What's the best thing you ever stole?"

"Best?"

"Yeah. Like, just, the thing you liked the best."

"Probably those CDs I stole this morning."

"You stole those? Dammit, Gambit, I would have made like thirty cents if you'd bought them."

"I'll give you a dollar later."

"You'd better," she says, batting her eyelashes.

"What about you, Magneto? What did you do before you started doing, um, this Brotherhood thing?"

There's a brief pause, which makes Gambit anxious. Doesn't this girl know when not to ask questions?

But Magneto says coolly, "I was an engineer," and leaves it at that.

"Well, what's the best thing you ever engineered?" she asks, with a small smile.

"I wrote a seminal monograph on the principles of electromagnetism."

She grins. "I guess that's not surprising. Did you publish it as Magneto?"

"No," he says.

"Come on," she says, playfully. "You've got a whole file folder about me and I don't even get to know your real name?"

Gambit carefully shuffles a deck of cards, avoiding eye contact with either of them._ Is she dense?_

"Magneto is my real name," he says coldly. "But my human name is Erik."

She nods. "Thank you."

"What about you, Nori?" Gambit asks. "What's the best song you ever wrote?"

She scrunches her lips in concentration. "Best? Best... well, from a technical standpoint, it'd be probably be a song called Varnish. Or River Run."

"How do you mean, technical?"

"Well, I used to pretty much just write these three-chord guitar songs. And they were fine, and people liked them. But mostly it was kind of just me trying to trick people into listening to me talk about my feelings. And also I was really kind of trying to reject all the classical music training I grew up with. It took a long time for me to be able to reincorporate a lot of that back into my sort of stripped down, DIY style. But, you know, I did it eventually and the music I've been writing lately is a lot more complex. Requiring more a more skilled technique to play, and to write." She stops and covers her mouth. "Gosh, I'm rambling."

"Nah," Gambit says, "You can talk all you want, _cherie_."

Magneto rises from the table. "Thank you for cooking, Nori. And do let us know when you have decided on a suitable codename for yourself. I'll be in my study for the rest of the evening, should you require anything."

"Thanks," she says.

She and Gambit chat further about music, and Gambit volunteers to do the rest of the dishes.

"I'll keep you company," she offers, and perches on the counter.

Gambit grins. "You know, I'm real glad you're here," he says. "Nobody ever talks to Magneto the way you do."

"I'm just trying to get to know him."

"He ain't really the type of person you get to know."

"But he's the leader of the Brotherhood, right?"

"Right."

"And you're here by choice?"

"Right."

"So why do you follow him?"

"Hey now, I didn't say I didn't respect him. He just pretty... aloof, you know what I'm saying? A lot of people think he intimidating."

She shrugs. "I got tired of people intimidating me a while back," she says.

"Look I don't want to scare you or nothing, but Magneto's got a temper. He... people don't usually ask him so many questions."

She nods. "Well, thanks for the advice. I'm probably just going to keep pressing my luck, 'cause that's kind of my M.O. But I can't say I wasn't warned."

"Fair enough, _cher_," he says, putting the last dish in the drying rack. "Now," he says, "I think I was promised a song after dinner?"

He led her downstairs, where she retrieved her guitar from her bedroom, and then they went back upstairs to the living room.

"Hey," she says, "This is a super nice living room. It's like bigger than my whole apartment in New York."

He laughs. "I am glad you like it here."

She perches on the edge of an easy chair and starts playing an acoustic version of "Dancing in the Dark."

_You can't start a fire, you can't start a fire without a spark_

_This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark_

Gambit grins. "Not bad, _ma mie_, not bad. But I thought you were going to play one of your songs for me."

"Not yet," she says. "First I want to see what you can do."

"I can do all kinds of things."

"I mean, I know what Magneto and Mystique's mutant powers are. What's yours?"

"Guess."

She quirks her lips. "Can you... throw things with incredible accuracy?"

"Yes I can, but that's just because I practice a lot."

"All right. Can you see through walls?"

"I'll give you one more guess, _cherie_."

"Ability to make your hair grow on command."

He laughs. "So close." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a deck of cards, and holds up the Queen of Hearts.

"Oh my God, you do magic tricks!"

"Not quite." He charges the card and holds it up for her to see, then lets the charge dissipate. No sense wrecking anything in the living room. "I'll show you for real some time. But I can take things and charge them with energy, and then, boom. They explode."

"Do you ever do it by mistake?"

"Not anymore. When I was a teenager there were a couple of... incidents."

"I bet. Man, I thought I had a lot of adolescent drama, but at least I never literally exploded anything."

"Now, _cherie_, I know I was promised another song."

"And do girls always keep their promises?"

"Nah, but I think that you do."

"Ah, well, I'd hate to disillusion you so early," she says. She plays a few more songs. She'd been right, earlier; they aren't really Gambit's favorite type of music. But she has a nice voice and he likes watching her play. And after a few songs he doesn't recognize, which he presumes she wrote, she switches back to Springsteen covers.

She stops after a handful of songs and looks wistful. "You know, I'd just gotten back from doing a show when you and Mystique came to get me yesterday. Yesterday?"

He nods. "I know. And yes, it was yesterday. Feels like longer, _non_?" She doesn't respond, and he continues, "You want a beer, _cherie_?"

"Desperately."

He returns from the kitchen with two Heinekens and she carefully puts her guitar back in its case and goes to join him on the sofa. He puts an arm around her, companionably, and she turns toward him and holds up her bottle. "To explosions," she toasts.

"To explosions," he echos.

At 11PM, Magneto comes upstairs to find them a few beers in and laughing. "I was planning to watch the news, if that's quite all right with you two," he says.

"Course, boss," Gambit says.

Nori puts an empty bottle, her third, on the table and relaxes her head into Gambit's chest.

Gambit sips a beer while watching the news, but he isn't really paying attention until a picture of Nori flashes on the screen and the pleasant-voiced newscaster says, "Indie rock singer Noriko Oyama, known as Nori Oh, has been reported missing following her performance downtown last night the 9:30 Club. Her bandmate reported finding Noriko's hotel room empty shortly after they returned from the club, but many of her personal effects, including wallet and cell phone, were left behind. Police have not yet ruled out foul play. Persons who have any information about her whereabouts are urged to call the Metro Police at 202..."

"I think this is going to make life difficult for Asian girls with short hair," Nori mumbles.

"What's that?" Magneto asks.

"We all look the same to white people. I'm pretty sure anyone with my haircut is going to get called in as a missing person sighting." She doesn't sound bitter, exactly. Just amused. Gambit isn't sure if she's drunk or not.

"Good," Magneto says. "It will make it that much more difficult for Stryker to get a lead on you."

"Hmm," Nori says.

"I hope you don't make a habit of drinking so much, Nori," Magneto says.

"I'm 21," she says, "I'm more than 21. And I'm a missing _per_son."

"Just be sure you're ready to work in the morning."

"Yes, sir," she mumbles into Gambit's chest.

When the news is over, Magneto turns off the television and heads downstairs. "I expect to see you both for breakfast," he says.

"Of course, boss," Gambit says.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Nori says, seriously. She maintains eye contact with Magneto for several seconds, and he says, "Good night," and leaves the room. As soon as he does, Nori dissolves into giggles. She unfolds herself from Gambit and the couch and stands up. "Do you guys recycle?" she asks, picking up the empty bottles.

"I'll show you the bin," he says, and they walk to the kitchen. After depositing the bottles, Nori drinks a big glass of tap water.

"Do you have an alarm clock? What time is breakfast?"

"I think that there is one in your room, actually. We eat at 6:30."

"Weird, I usually go to bed then."

"You got a lot to get used to here."

"Yeah." She turns and impulsively hugs him. "I'm real glad you're here."

"Likewise, _cherie_." She goes back to the living room for her guitar, which she carries with care. They walk downstairs together.

"Good night, Gambit," she says. "Hey. Can I call you Remy? That's your name, right?"

He blinks. "Yeah, _cher_, you can call me Remy. Not in public, of course."

"Of course. Have to preserve your secret identity," she says seriously.

"Exactly."

"Cross my heart and hope to die. Good night, Remy," she says.

"Good night, _cherie_. Sleep tight and don't let nothin' bite." She smiles crookedly and enters her bedroom, pulling the door shut behind her.

NOTES: Title is from "Raised on Robbery" by Joni Mitchell. Lyrics from "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen.


	5. The Times They Are A Changing

Chapter 5: The Times They Are A-Changing (Nori)

Nori is surprised by how quickly she adapts to life in the Brotherhood house, all things considered. She adapts to the routine. She takes over cooking for the house, though occasionally Gambit or Magneto join her in the kitchen when they crave meat. One night at dinner Magneto tries to pick a fight with her about vegetarianism, and she calmly cites all of her political, ethical, and environmental objections. He doesn't convert to vegetarianism, but he leaves her alone. Later, Remy tells her he doesn't remember the last time anyone held their own in an argument with Magneto. She shrugs. "I don't think he sees me as a worthy opponent."

"Don't worry, _cherie_, don't think he thinks of anybody as a worthy opponent. 'Cept maybe Charles Xavier."

"Who's that?"

"He and Xavier used to be... associates. But they don't exactly see eye to eye no more."

"What does Xavier do? Does he have a mutant club too?"

"How many times we gotta tell you, the Brotherhood ain't a club?"

She scrunches her nose. "I know, I know. All right, does Xavier have an association of mutant liberators?"

"Not exactly. He runs a school for young mutants. And some of the older ones, he trains them to be the X-Men."

"X-Men? For real?"

"For real."

She laughs. "It's all so silly." She's curled against Remy on the couch and he's stroking her hair. She isn't sure what's going on between the two of them. They flirt, but they haven't even kissed. She's attracted to him and she's pretty damn sure he reciprocates, but since they're really each other's only peers around here, she's afraid to bring sex into the equation. Under these circumstances, a breakup would be devastating. She thinks Remy feels likewise, since he flirts with her almost constantly but never makes any real moves. She's glad of that, because she doesn't think she could say no if he asked.

She keeps practicing with Magneto. Sometimes he brings her and Gambit into the big training gym and asks her to focus on only one of them. At first, she finds this completely exhausting and she wakes up in Magneto's study more times than she can count.

"Focus, Echo," he tells her sternly. Echo is the codename she's taken for herself, though she still forgets to answer to it sometimes. She makes a conscious effort not to get annoyed at Magneto when he tells her that. She makes another conscious effort not to get too pleased when he praises her. With time, her range and focus improve.

During Mystique's rare visits, Magneto asks her to train in hand-to-hand combat with Mystique and Gambit. She is not good at it. Before all this, she'd taken a few self-defense courses, which mostly consisted of kneeing a heavily padded attacker in the groin and running to safety. Mystique tries to instill in her the idea that there is nowhere safe to run to. Mystique writes out a weightlifting schedule for her, and though she's still only 5 feet tall, she does pick up a few extra muscles. But after a few months of this she still isn't very good at hand-to-hand combat. She doesn't like it, and she usually just ends up on the ground, shielding her face with her arms.

Gambit shrugs and tells her to duck behind him if they're ever in trouble.

"That was my plan anyway," she says. Eventually, Magneto and Mystique seem to give up on turning her into a fighter, and instead she starts getting hacking lessons, which she takes to much better.

After her first lesson, Mystique says, "I thought you said you'd never done this before.

"I haven't," she replies, "But they say musicians are good at math."

"What does music have to do with it?"

She shrugs. "Converting scales, picking up rhythms, following patterns... it's all kind of like this, I guess. I think it uses the same part of my brain."

"Well, I'd definitely rather have you in a computer system than in a fight."

"Me too," she says.

She spends a lot of time with Remy. Sometimes she does yoga in the corner of the training room while Remy practices with his staff. She likes watching him. It's almost like high school color guard, but without the flags. And if high school color guards could kill you.

Other times they play cards. She's spent enough time in dive bars to be decent at poker, and she knows people usually underestimate her. But Remy wins every time, until he teaches her how to cheat.

"I'm not sure you should be teaching me this," she says, "considering the only person I ever play is you."

He shrugs. "Ain't about winning, _cher_, just about having a good time. Besides, it's in my best interest for you to beat me occasionally."

"How do you figure?"

He leans in, confidentially. "Just so happens that my very favorite game is strip poker. But I figure you ain't gonna play that with me if you don't think you'll have at least a chance of seeing Remy without his shirt on."

She howls with laughter. "Maybe one day, LeBeau."

Another day Remy brings home a copy of _Rolling Stone_ with her face on the cover and the headline "Where's Nori Oh? A Collection of Remembrances, Conspiracy Theories, and Cries for Help." It's a strange article, unsure about whether or not to use the past tense, but it quotes a lot of her musician friends and it makes her weep. He is chagrined and tries his best to console her.

"I'm sorry, _cherie_, I thought you'd like it."

She wipes the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Oh, I do. I mean, I'm glad you got it for me. And normally I would be excited to be on the cover of _Rolling Stone_. Well, hell, I guess I still am. But, it's just... I miss that life. Of music. And all the people."

Magneto enters the living room. "Echo, are you quite all right?" he asks. "I felt that you were upset."

She sniffs. "Yeah. But it's okay." She holds up the magazine. "I think people are pretty much giving up hope that I'm coming back."

"That's a good thing for you. You should move on."

"Move on? You mean forget all of my old friends, my family?"

"This is your family now, Echo."

"Sure," she says, as Gambit rubs circles on her back. She sits on the floor in front of the couch and he's sitting above her. "But that doesn't mean I can't have two or three families."

"Do you think your old friends would be so fond of you if they knew you were a mutant?"

"Yes," she says, without hesitation. "Erik, I was a mutant rights activist. My very best friend is a mutant. I made it abundantly clear in my life that I was not okay with people who weren't okay with mutants, or queers, or people of color, or any fucking thing." She isn't crying any more, she's angry. "I know you want to divide it into Mutants Vs. Humans, but the fact is there are plenty of humans out there who are on our side. I was on our side before I even knew I was a mutant."

"Perhaps," he says. "But when it really comes down to it, we can only trust our own kind. Do you think that any of your human friends would take you in now, and protect you from your own government?"

"I think they would if they could," she says. "Most of my friends don't have the resources to do anything like what you are doing."

"How many of your human friends would risk death for you?"

"I don't know! How many people would risk death for any other person?" She's trembling. "Erik... what happened to you? What happened to you to make you hate humans so much?"

There is a long pause, during which Nori trembles and Remy anxiously runs his hands up and down her shoulders and avoids eye contact with Magneto.

"Let us just say that I've seen the worst of what humanity has to offer."

Another pause passes, and she asks, hesitantly, "Erik, where are you from?"

His lips tighten, and he says, "Poland." She tilts her head back to make eye contact with him, and her eyes tear up again.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I'm..." She trails off and hugs her knees into her chest. She focuses her energies on Erik, to let him know how she feels. Sad for him, and embarrassed for crying for herself, and she feels compassion and love for him.

He reels back like she's slapped him, then lets out a deep breath. "It's all right, Nori. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I'll cook dinner tonight, so you may rest."

She drops her connection to him. After he leaves for the kitchen, she climbs on the couch and rests her head on Remy's lap.

"Did... did you know?"

He smiles sadly down at her. "Yeah, _cherie_. One time when I was fighting him I saw the tattoo on his arm, and Mystique told me more later. He don't like to talk about it. Like you saw."

"What else did she tell you?"

"His whole family died. And I think... they did medical experiments on him, that kinda thing."

"That's horrible," she breathes.

"Are you two ready for dinner?" Magneto calls. Nori pulls herself into a seated position and wipes her face on her sleeve. Remy gives her an affectionate squeeze, and they head to the dining room.

She and Magneto never talk again about the Holocaust, and she knows he doesn't want her pity, but it tempers her understanding of him. She no longer sees him as such an egotist, but more of a hero.

Days turn to weeks, and she thinks she's been with the Brotherhood for about three months, when one morning after breakfast Remy turns to her and says, "Hey, _cherie_, want to come help me pack?"

"Where are you going?"

He hesitates. "I can't really tell you now."

She crosses her arms and he laughs at her pout. "Magneto will explain everything to you soon. But for now, he say it's best if not everybody knows all the parts of the plan. In case Xavier is spying." He taps his temple.

"Well, how long will you be gone?"

"Not sure, but I think that I will see you in a week, maybe."

"Well, I guess I can live a week without you."

"Barely."

She's never been in his bedroom before. It's pretty spartan, and she sings to him while he packs. He pulls two CDs out of a drawer. "You think I should bring these?"

"Those are still sealed! You never even listened to them."

He shrugs. "Didn't need to, _cherie_, I had the real thing. I think that I might need these where I'm going, to keep me company."

Magneto knocks on the door. "Gambit, are you ready?"

"Just about, boss. You can come in," he calls.

Magneto is holding a file folder and a small metal box. "Do you have any questions?"

"No, sir." Remy tucks the folder and box into his backpack.

Nori watches them both with sad eyes.

"All right, _cherie_, you gonna give me a kiss for luck?"

She stands on tiptoe, and he bends down, and she gives him a peck on the check.

"That one didn't feel lucky enough."

They kiss briefly on the lips, and Remy envelopes her in a crushing hug.

"I'll see you real soon, _cher_, okay? Be good."

She scrunches her nose at him. "Remy..." her voice catches. "See you soon." He grins at her, and then he and Magneto walk upstairs together. Ten minutes later, Magneto comes back and finds her sitting on Gambit's bed.

"He'll be fine, my dear," he tells her. "Gambit is good at what he does." To her surprise, he sits next to her on the bed and puts an arm around her. "Be strong, Echo," he says, and he strokes her hair once before standing up again. "Meet me in my study in ten minutes, please." She nods.

She smoothes down Remy's bed and leaves, turning off the lights behind her. She goes back to her room and fixes her hair before walking down the hall to Magneto's office.

Before she can knock, the door swings open. She walks up to the desk and sits down. She shakes her foot, anxiously. "Magneto?"

"Yes?"

"What's going on?"

He sighs. "Mystique and I have been working on a plan for quite some time, and it is about to come to fruition. We hope."

"What kind of plan?"

"Tell me, Echo, what if there no longer were a war between humans and mutants?"

"Well, that would be peachy. But how?"

"What if there were no more humans?"

She looks at him, wide-eyed. "You're going to kill all the humans?"

"No, Echo. I'm going to evolve all the humans."

She exhales. "How?"

"I'm building a machine."

"A machine to convert humans into mutants?"

"Yes. It will use an electromagnetic pulse to trigger an activation of an X-gene in everyone within range.

"Hmm."

"Don't you see? Then there can be no persecution of mutants. It's the only way."

"I don't think it is the only way," she says in a small voice.

"It is the most efficient way."

She bites her lip.

"Don't let it concern you, my dear."

She doesn't like the idea, but she is also aware of the futility of changing Magneto's mind. Especially since he seems so set on this. No point in borrowing trouble until she knows more. So she nods and says, "All right."

He gives her a long look. "You're not convinced, are you?"

She shrugs. "Does it matter?"

"I suppose not. But you are a member of the Brotherhood, and I would like you to understand."

"I understand," she says.

"You are aware that I can feel your emotions, correct?" he says drily.

She shrugs. "What do you want me to say? I do understand your logic. It's just... kind of a big idea to wrap my head around, I guess. It seems like such a big change... it doesn't seem... quite right."

"And what if I were to change everyone into normal humans? Would you prefer that?"

"No, of course not."

"We are the next step in evolution, Echo. Don't you agree?"

"Yes," she whispers.

"So then, what is your objection?"

She takes a long breath. "I guess... I just think it would be a shame to eliminate diversity. I don't think I would want to turn everyone in the world into math geniuses, or beauty queens, or any one thing."

He looks at her dismissively. "All mutants aren't the same, Echo."

"I-I know, but...it just doesn't feel quite right."

"Well, never mind," he says, disappointedly. "I hope that in time we can see eye to eye on this."

"Yes..." she says.

"I know that being here with the Brotherhood hasn't been easy for you. I'm proud of how much you've learned here, Echo."

"Thank you. Th-thank you for taking me in. I really do appreciate it."

She's scared, and she knows that Magneto knows it and doesn't like it, but she doesn't know what to do.

"Tell me, Echo, do you play chess?"

"I've played it," she says. "I mean, I joined chess club in high school because my parents thought it would look good on my college applications."

"Would you like to play it now?"

"Uh, sure."

"It's all right, my dear. Just a game."

She watches him warily throughout the game. He plays recklessly, sacrificing many pieces up front. She plays methodically. He wins.

"Well played, Echo."

She nods. "Better played, Magneto." She stands. "I'll go make lunch. What would you like?"

"Anything is fine."

She listens to music in the kitchen and it relaxes her somewhat, but she still drops a glass bottle of salad dressing on the ground, shattering it. She's on the verge of tears cleaning it up when Magneto walks in and helps her.

He pats her back. "It's all right, child."

"I'm sorry. I just, I don't know. I don't feel quite right today."

"You miss your friend. You'll see him soon."

"Right."

He offers her a hand and she gets up off the kitchen floor.

"Let's eat," he says, almost jauntily. She nods, but barely touches her food.

"You should eat, to keep your strength up."

She forces down a few more bites of salad. He sighs. "Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off, my dear?"

"Okay," she says. "Thank you."

She curls up on the couch and watches Disney movies, which Gambit has been stealing for her, for the rest of the afternoon, trying not to think about what the man with whom she has cast her lot is capable of doing.

NOTE Title is from "The Times They Are A Changing" by Bob Dylan.


	6. Bad Moon Rising

Chapter 6: Bad Moon Rising (Magneto)

When he comes up for dinner, he is both amused and disappointed to find Echo watching cartoons. She looks like a young girl. He supposes she is, compared to him.

He hopes she doesn't cause any speed bumps to his plan. There is always his backup plan, but he'd hate to resort to that. So messy.

He barely sees Echo during the next few days. He makes a lot of phone calls and last-minute plans. Finally, three days after Gambit left, he tells the girl to pack a bag.

"Where are we going?"

"To another Brotherhood base."

"Will we be coming back here?"

"Likely not."

"Do you have a bag I can use?"

"Ah, of course. Come with me." He leads her to a storage closet and pulls out an Army surplus duffel bag.

"Thanks."

She slips downstairs and rolls up her clothing. Her iPod and books she puts in her old messenger bag, and her guitar in its case.

She carries her things upstairs, and Magneto glances at them. "Do you really need that guitar?"

"Yes."

Magneto shrugs. "Fair enough."

"Do I have to ride in the trunk again?"

"It would be for the best."

She nods. "Okay." She opens her messenger bag and puts her iPod in her pocket. "How far are we going?"

"A few hours."

"Okay."

They walk together into the house's attached garage, and she gets into the trunk of a nondescript Toyota.

He stops a few hours away, at an empty pier. He lets her out and she rubs her eyes. "I haven't seen the sun in a long time," she marvels. He offers her a small smile.

Magneto uses his power to pull a small speedboat out from under the dock. They carefully place their bags in the boat and Echo lightly steps into it. He follows and pilots the boat.

She wraps her coat around her tightly and says nothing, but he can feel from her a mixture of happiness-at being outside, he assumes-and anxiety-about where they were going. When they reach his base he uses his power to open a hatch and they walk inside.

She laughs a little when she sees the inside of the rock. "It looks like something out of a Bond movie," she says.

He leads her down a tunnel, to a small bedroom. "You may sleep here. I don't think you will be as comfortable as you were in the last house, but we won't be here for long. Stay here until someone comes for you."

"Okay."

He takes her hand and pats it.

He fetches Echo for dinner and introduces her to Sabretooth. He can tell she's a little nervous about him-Sabretooth is nearly two feet taller than her and easily weighs three times as much as she does-but her face doesn't show it. She tries in vain to chat with Sabretooth, but trails off after receiving one too many growls in response. She's a funny little one. He really has grown fond of her, and he hopes she survives what's to come.

He spends the next two days putting all the finishing touches on his machine. Toad has done good work in his absence, but it requires his hand to be complete.

Finally, Mystique, Toad, Gambit, and Senator Kelly turn up. Senator Kelly is immediately ferreted away to a cold cell. It's still better than what that hatemonger deserves.

Gambit and Echo have a joyful reunion. Magneto really isn't sure what to make of their fast friendship. He knows Gambit to be a bit of a lady-killer,as they say, and he hope it doesn't end badly for them. He's grateful, though. Echo would have been much more difficult to manage without Gambit around to steady her.

Based on his readings of her emotional projections, he thinks she asked Gambit for details about what was going on, only to be rebuffed. Gambit is a good soldier.

After dinner, Echo goes back to her room, and the rest of them gather to watch the first usage of his machine. Just as he's about to power it, he senses Echo's presence in the room. He realizes their link goes both ways-since he's always using his power, he can always feel her emotions and the faint traces of her power. But she can always locate his personal energy. He'll have to be remember that. Anyway, it's too late for her to do anything. He powers the machine. It hurts very much, but he's lived through worse.

After Mystique, beautiful in her blue form, helps him out, he whispers to Kelly. "Welcome to the future, brother." With the last of his strength, he returns Kelly to his cell. Mystique and Sabretooth walk him back to his bedroom, where he collapses for a long, dreamless sleep. He wakes up in the morning with Mystique curled around him.

"It's lovely to have you back, my dear."

"How are you, Erik?"

"I'm quite all right. How is Senator Kelly?"

She shrugs.

"Let's go pay him a visit, shall we? We wouldn't want him to get lonely."

Along the way they find Echo standing in her doorway. She feels incredibly anxious. "Good morning, Echo."

"Magneto, are you all right?"

"Never better, my dear."

"Are you going to see Kelly?"

"Yes."

"Can I come?" He hesitates. He wants her to understand the process and see how necessary it is. But he genuinely isn't sure what they'll find in Kelly's cell. It might not be instructive.

"I think it would be best if you didn't. He may be dangerous right now. Perhaps you can visit him later, depending on his condition."

"Okay." He had expected more of a fight from her, but perhaps she knows that there are things she doesn't really want to see. It isn't until they're almost at the end of hall that he hears her door shut.

He brings Sabretooth with him-he hadn't been lying about the possibility that Kelly may have become something dangerous. Of course, he's always been dangerous.

"How are we feeling, Senator? Advanced, I hope." He frowns upon seeing the empty cell and rips the metal bars off the window, to see Kelly clinging to the rock wall over the ocean.

"What the hell have you done with me?" Senator Kelly demands.

"Senator, this is pointless. Who would take you in, now that you're one of us?"

Sabretooth reaches over to grab him, but the senator slips away.

Magneto stalks out, sealing Sabretooth into the cell for a little reflection time. He supposes it doesn't really matter if Kelly dies, but it would have been nice to have him alive for a while longer. Sabretooth snarls as they leave.

Magneto is too agitated to eat, but he goes to the dining room anyway. Mystique, Echo, and Gambit are already there. Echo has a full bowl of cereal in front of her that she doesn't really seem to be eating.

"How is the Senator this morning?" Gambit asks. Echo looks up anxiously.

"Wet," Mystique answers.

"Senator Kelly preferred to throw himself off a cliff than to live as a mutant with us," Magneto says.

Echo says nothing, but Magneto feels her unease. It doesn't matter. Everything will fall into place soon enough.

"That's too bad," Gambit says. "He mighta been a good poker player."

"Likely, since he was a maniplative, dangerous liar."

"I thought that was what you liked best about me," Mystique purrs.

"You wear it so well, my dear."

Echo and Gambit both get up from the table. Hopefully Gambit can calm her down. Dealing with her nerves is tiring.

The next day, he finds Echo in her room playing guitar. She seems calmer, more focused.

"Hey, Erik," she says softly.

"Hello, Nori," he says. It's a bit of an olive branch. He knows she prefers to be called by her human name, and even though he wants her to leave that identity behind, it's best if she feels comfortable with him. She smiles, but says nothing. "Would you come with me?"

She puts the guitar back in its case. "Where are we going?"

"Just to my study." She trails behind him quietly.

"How big is this place?"

"The island is about 3 kilometers by 2 kilometers, though not all of that is usable space."

"When did you build this? You built it, right?"

"A few years ago."

"Do you use it a lot?"

"No. But it can be useful. As you can see."

She nods. They arrive outside his office door, which has no knob. He waves it smiles at his wireless Newton's cradle.

"Now. Echo. Have you been following the news lately?"

"Well, not since we got here. But before that, you know, I watched the news every night. With you."

He nods.

"I've tested my device. It works, Echo. Can you tell me where the most useful place for its first real use would be?"

"The UN Summit," she says with a tone of revelation. "That's what you've been planning all along. Isn't it."

He nods. "Clever girl. Now, I don't know how much you saw of my demonstration yesterday."

"It was very... bright."

"Yes. But, Echo, it is exhausting to use. Just to change Senator Kelly nearly killed me."

She sags a little. "You want me to help."

"Yes."

"I-I don't know..."

"I thought you might say that," he says, and hands her a file folder.

"Do you guys get these at Costco or something?" she asks.

"Hmm?"

"Never mind." She opens the folder. Inside is a picture of a pretty teen girl and a brief summary. Marie D'Encanto. 17-year-old mutant female. Ability: involuntarily absorbs and sometimes also removes the memories, physical strength, and (in the case of mutants) the abilities of anyone she touches.

She looks up at him. "Goddammit. If I won't do it, you're going to make this girl take my place?"

"Not exactly, Echo. It would be more efficient to have her take my place. Unfortunately, it would likely kill her."

She drops the folder on his desk. "I'll do it. Asshole. You knew I would." She crosses her arms across her chest. He knew she wouldn't be happy about this, but she's calmer than he expected.

"You know, for someone so concerned with saving mutants, you don't seem to mind losing a few along the way." She doesn't say it viciously, just reflectively.

"The war cannot be won without sacrifices, Echo. I do deeply regret every mutant death-even that of Senator Kelly. But I would much rather suffer a few mutant deaths in the battle for equality than end up with another tattoo on my arm, on your arm, on all of our arms."

Echo studies her nails for a long time. "I'm sorry I called you an asshole," she says finally.

He laughs. "You're hardly the first to do so, Echo. And I'm sorry for manipulating you. I just hope you can see that it's in the best interest of all of us. Of the Brotherhood. Of all mutantkind."

"Whatever," she says, but it's with a small smile. "Wait, what day is it? When is the summit?"

"Tomorrow."

She gives a brittle laugh. "Of course it is."

"We're leaving this evening. I suggest you actually eat something at the next meal, my dear."

"Okay." She looks at him unsteadily.

"Thank you, Echo." She rises to her feet, and hesitates. "Do think you can find your way back to your room?"

"No," she says with a laugh.

"I'll take you," he says. She takes his hand on the way out of his office, which surprises him. He feels a surge of protective feeling for her. She'll understand. He's doing this for her, for other mutants like her with no one to defend them.

NOTES: Title is from "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.


	7. Know When To Hold Em

Chapter 7: Know When To Hold 'Em, Know When to Fold 'Em (Gambit)

Gambit goes looking for Nori after breakfast. He isn't exactly sure what Magneto has told her, but after seeing Magneto's demonstration with Kelly, he's realized the part Nori is to play in all of this and assumes she has too. She isn't in her room, and he isn't sure where else she might be. He doesn't like this island base. Too cold and too enclosed. He doesn't think Nori knows her way around it. He decides to go to the workout room to burn off some energy. He finds Toad.

"Want to spar?" Toad asks.

"All right, _mon amie_, but no tongue."

Toad grins, then abruptly flies at him. He's fast, but so is Gambit. Toad tries to spit in his face, but Gambit manages to hit the spit in mid-air with a charged card. _Thank God,_ he thinks. He's been hit with Toad's slime before and it is one of the most disgusting things he's ever experienced. They start going at each other with staffs. Gambit feels confident. He's been fighting with a staff since he was a boy, and Toad is relatively new to the weapon. But still, Toad is good and Gambit is distracted. Gambit ends up on the ground. Toad opens his mouth, but Gambit manages to flip his legs up and get back on his feet. He charges his staff and gets a good shot at Toad, who groans.

"Game over, mate. Go find your girlfriend."

Gambit shrugs. "Maybe I will. Thanks for the workout." He likes Toad. You know where you stand with him. Gambit goes for a quick shower, then returns to Nori's room to see if she's there. He hears music, which is promising. He knocks, and she calls, "Come in!"

She's sitting on the floor with her legs out in front of her, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hand. It doesn't look terribly comfortable, but he's seen her do weirder things on her yoga mat. "Remy!" she says happily. "I wanted to look for you but I was afraid I'd end up falling into the ocean."

"What were you going to do with me if you found me?"

She laughs. He sits on the ground next to her. "How are you holding up, _cherie_?"

"I... I don't know. Magneto talked to me this morning. He needs me to help power his machine. Did you know that?"

"I didn't know for sure. But I kinda figured." She leans into him.

"Remy, he told me that if I didn't help him, he was going to kidnap this teenage girl and make her do it. And that she'd probably die."

"He said that?"

She nods. "He showed me her picture."

"I think that he knew you wouldn't let that happen. He knew he wouldn't have to follow through with that."

"But he would have. If I hadn't."

"He would have," he agrees. "It's for the best, _cherie_. I know it's scary... but think how much better it'll be, for everyone. If all those leaders become mutants."

"Yeah... I get it. I guess... I just didn't really want to have to play a part in it. But I guess I have to commit."

He strokes her hair. "You're doing a good thing."

She turns her head and looks up at him. "Remy...I...I want you to kiss me." Playfully, he kisses her forehead. She wraps her arms around his neck and begins kissing him passionately. She repositions herself so she's straddling him. He gasps and feels himself get hard. He pulls her tighter and returns her kiss. When they come up for her, he asks, "Nori, is this what you want?"

"Yes... I was afraid... I didn't want things to be awkward between us, but..."

He rubs her cheek with his thumb. "Nothing awkward about this, _cherie_."

They move to the bed, and he's glad. Not that he'd complain, but their difference in height was giving him a neck cramp. He has his hand under her shirt, and she's making small sounds that he loves, but abruptly she pulls away. "What time is it?"

"I don't know."

"I think Magneto's coming. I think we have to leave soon." Her eyes unfocus a little; she's using her power. "He's definitely close. Fuck."

"It's all right, _cherie_. We'll have plenty of time later."

She laughs. "I feel like we're in high school again."

"That's why I dropped out of high school."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

He kisses her. "My smart girl," he says, just as he hears a knock at the door.

"Echo, time for lunch," Magneto says.

"Okay, coming!" she calls. Gambit smirks and she elbows him. "You're ridiculous. Let's go to lunch."

"_Cherie_, you know I think you look lovely, but you might want to comb your hair first."

She glances in the bathroom mirror. "Yikes. Thanks for the warning." Her hair's longer now, and she pulls it back in a clip. "Bam, done."

"You go ahead. I have to finish something," he says. She glances at him, grins, and says okay. In the hallway, he hears Magneto ask if Gambit is coming.

"He had to finish something," she says sweetly.

Gambit quickly masturbates in the bathroom. He's pretty sure it would have killed him to sit through lunch like this. He's worried, too. He thinks maybe he loves Nori. But there are things she doesn't know about him. And he's not at all sure she belongs in the Brotherhood. He wonders if he would leave the Brotherhood, for her. He exhales. Don't get ahead of yourself, Remy.

He washes his hands and heads to the dining hall. Sabretooth mutters, "You smell nice, Gambit."

He laughs and says, "I showered today. Thank you for noticing, _mon ami_." Nori has a small smirk on her face.

"Gambit, I'm glad you could join us," Magneto says.

"Sorry I was late, boss." He holds Magneto's gaze with the faintest hint of challenge.

Magneto waves a hand. "No matter. Today we make final preparations for Liberty Island. There will be increased security for the UN event, so we will stick to carefully targeted areas where we can be sure of overpowering the guards without attracting more. Mystique will talk us though it after lunch."

Gambit nods. Everyone is pretty quiet during the meal, even the usually-chatty Nori.

Afterward, they file into the workout room and Mystique goes over the plan with them once has long known his part, but this is the first time they've seen the whole plan, start to finish. It seems pretty straightforward, until Magneto adds blandly that they might expect interference from the X-Men. "Mystique is leaving shortly to disable Xavier, which will be a help."

Mystique smiles, dangerously.

"The rest of us will leave at sundown. Does anyone have any questions?"

Everyone shakes their heads no. "Take the rest of the afternoon to prepare, then."

He and Nori find each other in the hallway. "You need to prepare, _ma mie_?"

"I've never gone into battle against the X-Men before," she says breathily. "Do you want to help me get ready?"

"I think that I could show you a few things." They make their way back to Nori's bedroom and pick back up where they were interrupted. Nori is frankly better in bed than he would ever have guessed from her sweet exterior. Maybe he should have guessed... she's always been very physical with him, and she does a lot of yoga. Afterward, she lies with her head on his bare chest and sighs.

"I think I've been waiting for that since the day I met you," she says.

"Oh? Was it worth the wait?"

"I don't know that your ego needs stroking," she says.

"_Moi_? You are calling me egotistical? Stop, _cherie_, I am wounded."

She half rolls over and pushes herself up to kiss him gently on the lips. "It was worth the wait, Remy."

"I thought so, too," he says with a satisfied grin.

"Remy, if... if anything happens to me tomorrow-"

"It won't, _cherie_."

"Shh... if anything does. Will you make sure Magneto sent my letters? To my mom, and to Rachael?"

He looks at her solemnly. "I promise. _Je t'aime_, Nori."

"_Daisuki_, Remy." She sighs. "We have a few hours until we have to leave. What should we do?"

He grins. "I can think of a few things..."

She giggles, then gasps as he makes his way under the sheets. Gambit loves making women happy.

Afterwards, he confides, "Between you and me, I think tomorrow might be a pretty rough day. So we should probably try to make today as good as possible, _oui_?"

"Sounds like a pretty good life philosophy to me," she murmurs.

They lie together for awhile, quietly enjoying each other's presence.

"_Cherie_?"

"Yes?"

"I have some bad news."

"Yes?"

"I think that it is time for us to get dressed."

"Oh, bother."

"My thoughts exactly," he says. She sits up, reluctantly.

"I'm going to take a quick shower."

"You want help?"

She purses her lips. "How much time do we have?"

He glances at his watch. "Perhaps it is better if I take a cold shower. By myself."

She looks at him fondly. "I'll be quick." She is. She walks back out into her room wrapped in a towel, and Gambit looks at her appreciatively.

"Get in the shower, Remy. I have to pick out my mutant weapon wardrobe."

"You look good in black," he suggests.

They're ready in time, just barely. Mystique flies the helicopter, and everyone is quiet on the ride. Everything goes according to plan, for a while. The human security guards are no trouble. Magneto puts his machine into place with ease. Sabretooth, Gambit, and Echo go with him. Mystique and Toad wait up front to guard against any intruders.

The X-Men make it past Mystique and Toad. Gambit is a little surprised—he's never actually fought them before, and Magneto always talked about them as if they were pushovers. But he supposes they outnumbered Mystique and Toad by far.

He's surprised to see Logan—he remembers him from their attack on Stryker's old base, at Three Mile Island. But, of course, Logan doesn't remember him. Magneto takes quick care of the X-Men, trapping them to the metal walls. He stands behind Magneto, tapping his staff. Sabretooth stalks about, assisting Magneto.

"I've seen Senator Kelly," blurts out Jean Grey. She and Storm tell Magneto about Kelly's death, but Magneto will have none of it.

"Those people down there, they control our fate! And the fate over every other mutant," Magneto says, passionately. "Soon our fates will be theirs."

He floats back up to the machine, where Echo waits. Gambit wonders if what Storm and Jean have said is true. He supposes there isn't really anything he can do if it is.

He thinks about trying to talk to Logan, but figures it isn't really the time. He wonders what happened to Mystique and Toad. He shuffles cards anxiously with his free hand.

"You gonna do a party trick, bub?" Logan calls out.

"You'd better hope I don't have to," he says, laconically. He looks hard at Logan, then away.

Suddenly, Sabretooth is leaping at Logan. It takes Gambit a moment to realize that Logan has somehow freed himself. He thinks about going up to help, but figures he'd better stay down here in case any of the others try something. Besides, Sabretooth should have Logan under control. He's seen them fight before. Momentarily, Sabretooth returns and nods once at Gambit. Good.

But then, Logan jumps back into their small chamber. He grabs Cyclops' visor and before Gambit realizes what's happening, Cyclops has knocked Sabretooth into the water and Logan has freed the other X-Men.

_Fuck_, he thinks. He hears Echo gasp and starts to see white beams of light coming from the top of the statue.

He tosses cards at all the X-Men, knocking them back. He gracefully leaps up above the chamber, hoping to stand between them and Magneto. He tries to plan a strategy. He does not want to get in the way of Cyclops' beams. He charges his staff and shakes it from hand to hand. If he destroys the statue, Magneto and Echo will fall, and this whole thing will have been for nothing.

The white light is spreading. Logan jumps at him, and Gambit knocks him aside with his staff. But then a red blast hits him in the shoulder, hard enough to knock him off balance, and Gambit falls.

_Fuck_, he thinks again. He's still conscious when he hits the water, barely. He hates swimming. The water is so cold. He thinks about taking a quick nap. He sees the white light spreading over the ocean. _No, no napping now. Focus._ He swims back to shore. The helicopter? No, someone's surely found it by now. Just get to shore. Just get out of the water. He suddenly remembers watching _Finding Nemo_ with Nori. _Just keep swimming, just keep swimming_... he laughs. Is he delirious? Keep swimming.

He pulls himself onto shore. He takes stock of himself. He's lost his staff. His clothes are wet. But he's alive, and he still has his powers.

The white light has stopped. What happened? Did it work? Should he wait for Magneto and Echo? He's in a park. He thinks back to the maps they looked at during planning. Liberty State Park? Battery Park? He crawls into some hedges and wraps his coat around himself, and he passes out.

He wakes up at first light and takes stock of his situation. He needs to find out what happened to the others. He tries to get an idea of what's going on around him. He sees a small red-brick building in the distance and decides to investigate. He creeps along within the hedges as best he can.

It's the office for the Jersey City Liberty Island ferry. No tourists seem to be out yet. The parking lot is empty, but there's one night watchman. Gambit silently hits him in the back of the head with a landscaping stone. He's pretty sure the guard will live, and he wonders if he should finish him off. But the guard never saw him. No harm leaving him.

He pockets the guards keys and all the cash from his wallet. He enters the office and pokes around, knocking out two security cameras first. The cash register is empty. He keeps going. He finds a storage room with all kinds of tourist crap. There doesn't seem to be a storefront, but he's sure they make a killing selling to tourists. He grabs some I (Heart) NY paraphanalia and some cheap sunglasses and loses his all-black gear. He cleans himself up in the bathroom and considers his next move. He needs a car. He needs to get out of here. He looks at a map posted in the front office and realizes he's not far from a railroad station. He stealthily heads across the park, and is cheered to see a handful of cars in the parking lot. He casually approaches the car farthest from the station, snaps the car's antenna and uses it to pick the lock. Then he pops the hood, hotwires the car, and drives off before anyone is the wiser. He hopes.

He wishes he hadn't had to snap the antenna, because he can't pick up any radio stations. _Fuck_, he thinks, again. Where's the nearest Brotherhood safe house? He needs to know the rest of the story, of what happened last night. He needs to eat something.

He stops at a gas station and buys coffee, trail mix, and a newspaper.

"It's awful about what happened at that UN Summit, isn't it?" asks the clerk, a young woman with a thick Jersey accent.

He glances at the newspaper. "'Mutant Attack on UN Summit'," he reads aloud, trying to quash his own accent. "Huh," he adds, disapprovingly.

"You didn't hear about it?"

"I've been driving all night and my car doesn't get radio stations," he says, apologetically.

"Look," she says, tapping the photo of white light spreading over the harbor with one long nail. "Some mutants tried to kill all those UN leaders. Luckily the police stopped them in time."

"Scary," he says, and he is scared. "Well, you have a good day, miss," he says.

"You too. Have a good trip."

He goes back to his car and has to hotwire it again. He sits in it reading the article and drinking the coffee. It says that Magneto has been taken into custody and will face trial, but nothing about the others. He's sure Sabretooth is alive somewhere. He's pretty much indestructible. And Mystique... seems to be able to get out of any scrape. But if they have Magneto, he's sure they have Echo. He thinks they would probably say if she were died, and he suspects the reason she's not mentioned at all in the article is that Stryker took her directly into custody. _Fuck_.

He decides to head for their safehouse in upstate New York. As far as he knows, it's the closest to Stryker's base, and probably the closest one to where he is now. He drives all morning, and when the car runs out of gas, he steals a new one. He makes it to the safehouse in that car, and abandons it on the outskirts of town. He walks to the house, which he's never been to, but whose location Mystique has forced him to study many times. He silently thanks her for being such a hardass. He even remembers where the key is hidden (fake rock, back door) and lets himself in. The desk in the study has a drawer with a false bottom, which contains fake IDs for all Brotherhood members, cash in a few currency types, and a disposable cell phone. But who can he call?

He showers and eats a can of soup. He realizes his body is hungry, even though he doesn't have much of an appetite, so he eats a can of Spaghetti-Os too. They are disgusting.

He turns on the TV and waits for the local news to come on. He falls asleep in the middle of an inane sitcom and wakes up several hours later. He watches an infomercial for some kind of home fitness system. He catches the morning news and hears nothing new about Magneto or any of the Brotherhood members. He wishes he had a deck of cards, and it occurs to him to check if there are any in the house. He finds some in one of the bedrooms and is feeling pretty pleased with himself when he hears the front door open.

He puts a few cards in his hand and slips down the hallway. A pretty blonde woman of college age is in the kitchen. She seems harmless, but Gambit can't trust her.

"Excuse me," he says, with his best Northern accent. "What are you doing in my house?"

"Oh, now it's your house?" she says, and by the end of her sentence she's no longer blonde. She's Mystique.

"Oh, thank God," he says. "Glad to see you, _cher_."

She nods. "Have you heard anything from the others?"

"No," he says. "Not much on TV or in the papers, far as I can tell. What happened to Toad?"

"Not sure," she says. "I... missed most of the action." She points to a bandage on her abdomen.

"I saw Sabretooth get knocked off the statue and fall pretty hard. I got knocked off, too, but he got hit by Cyclops at a much closer range. I'm not sure... I'm not sure what happened to him."

"And Magneto has been taken into custody."

"Do you think Echo is with him?"

She shrugs. "It's a good bet that if he survived, so did she. She's probably with Stryker."

"That's what I figured," he says.

"We'll get them back," she says flatly.

"'Course."

He feels better now that Mystique is here. Gambit's a survivor, but Mystique's a strategist. She'll figure something out.

NOTES: Title from "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers. I mean, obviously.


	8. All the Lonely People

Chapter 8: All the Lonely People (Nori)

WARNING: May be triggering.

She wakes up alone. "Magneto?" she calls out, hesitantly. She doesn't think he's here, but she's not sure where "here" is. She remembers she was with Magneto. He was wearing a cape, which she had privately thought was hilarious. She looks down and realizes that she's wearing a white jumpsuit. She's confused; she's pretty sure she never dressed herself in a white jumpsuit. One of her arms feels heavier than the other. Then she notices that her left arm is hooked into some kind of monitor. She's in a small room with white walls. There's a camera on the ceiling. She's cold. She remembers Magneto's machine. _Did it work?_ She wonders. She wonders if Magneto survived. She touches her head and is pleased to discover she still has hair.

The room has a bed in it, and a chair. Everything is white. She pushes up her right sleeve and looks at her lotus blossom tattoo and remembers that pink and green are colors. She pushes her sleeve back down.

She hugs her knees into her chest with her right arm and waits.

Soon, or maybe it isn't soon, a bearded man in a military uniform walks into her room.

"Ah, Miss Oyama," he says. His accent is a little like Remy's but not really. Is Remy alive?

She looks at him, but says nothing. "I'm so pleased you're awake. We've been waiting for you for a long time, you know. Magneto did a good job hiding you, but we have him now, too."

She drops her eyes and thinks about Bartok's solo violin sonata. She played it at a college recital.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the man continues. She wishes he would leave. "My name is Colonel William Stryker." She rocks back and forth slightly.

"You don't want to talk to me? That's okay. I think I can convince you. Yuriko?" Now he has Nori's attention. The door slides open and her sister walks in.

"Yuri!" she cries. She tries to get up, but her arm is stuck. Yuri looks right at her but says nothing.

"Yuri? _Ane_?" Nori's shaking badly now. Magneto had told her that she was brainwashed, but privately she had believed that if she could just see her sister, everything would be fine.

"Yuriko, please help me with this subject," Stryker says. Obediently, Yurko walks up to Nori and forces her head forward. Nori cries out, but can't resist her sister's much stronger grip. Stryker walks behind her. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"Just making you a little bit more cooperative." Something cold touches her neck, and it stings. And then... she doesn't remember why her sister was holding her down in the first place. Her sister smiles at her, and Stryker is there, asking questions.

"Now, Miss Oyama, what can you tell me about the Brotherhood of Mutants?"

"It's led by Magneto. Mystique, Toad, Sabretooth, and Gambit are in it too. And I am, I guess."

He laughs. "I guess you were. You're not anymore, are you?"

"No," Nori admits.

"Do you know of anyone else who was in the Brotherhood?"

She thinks. "No."

"Where does the Brotherhood live?" She happily reveals everything she can remember, which isn't that much. Magneto had always kept her in the dark, which sometimes annoyed her but mostly relieved her. Now she wishes she knew more, so she could tell Stryker.

"Good girl," he says, when he's finally asked all of his questions. "Now, give me your arm." There's another man in the room, in a white coat. She doesn't know when he got there, but it doesn't matter. She holds out her arm, and the white-coated man takes out a lot of her blood. She feels dizzy.

"Now, you'd better get some rest, Miss Oyama," Stryker says. Obediently, she lies down. "I'll see you soon, I promise."

She's alone, and she falls into a heavy sleep. When she wakes up she remembers what she had done the previous day and cries.

Stryker interrogates her once more, but seems to accept that she was more of a dependent of the Brotherhood than an actual member.

Her days bleed into each other. She can't decide which she prefers: the times when the drug wears off, and she is left to clearly remember all the things she has been forced to do, the horror of seeing her sister as some kind of zombie bodyguard, and all that she has left behind; or the times when she is drugged and forced to participate in Stryker's experiments. They keep connecting her to machines and making her amplify other mutants. She doesn't recognize any of them, and they all have sad blank eyes. They take her blood, too. Sometimes at night she wonders how much blood she has left.

Probably the worst are the times when Stryker's done with her for the day, but the drug hasn't worn off yet and some of the guards take advantage of her. There's one guard who prefers when she isn't drugged—he likes the struggle—but most of them leave her alone with her sad thoughts when she's lucid. Sometimes they give her magazines.

She isn't sure how much of what Stryker tells her is true. He says Magneto is a prisoner, too, and that everyone else in the Brotherhood is dead. She wonders how anyone could keep Magneto prisoner. _I guess if he's drugged the whole time, too... _She holds out hope that one day they will slip just a little bit with his dosage. He'll come for her, if he can. Won't he? She's only in here because of him. No, that's not right. Stryker was coming for her before. Magneto saved her. Temporarily.

When she can, she tries to reach out with her power. She can never find him, though she does sense other mutants around. She tries to strengthen them whenever she can. Maybe it will be enough to let them escape, somehow. She tries to send them happy thoughts. But she rarely has enough energy to devote to this hobby.

One day she sees her sister, her real sister. The drug wears off for a second when she's in Nori's cell, waiting to take her to the lab. Yuri glances at her hands in horror, then at Nori, and she cries out. "Nori! You have to get out of here!" But then Stryker drugs her, and drugs Nori, too.

When the drugs wear off that night, Nori cries. But she is glad to know that her real sister is still there somewhere. She was afraid that maybe Yuri had forgotten. She can't believe how long her sister has been with this horrible man. _At least she gets to go outside_, she thinks. But she remembers the way Yuri looked at her hands, her dangerous hands, and she supposes she has the better end of the deal after all.

NOTES: Title from "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles.


	9. Behind Blue Eyes

Chapter 9: Behind Blue Eyes (Magneto)

He is unbelievably furious to have been captured by Stryker. He had sworn long ago that he would never again be imprisoned.

He blames Charles and his damnable X-Men. Why couldn't he have just let them alone? It wasn't any of their business. He wasn't trying to hurt mutants.

The first time Charles visits, Erik tells him so in their angry telepathic conversation.

Charles mildly points out that Senator Kelly dissolved, and he is sure that killing all the world's leaders would have hurt mutants. He's devastated to have this confirmation that his device didn't work. He was sure that Storm and Jean were just trying to sabotage him. He asks him, painfully, if it's true what Stryker has told him, that Mystique and everyone else is dead. Charles isn't sure, but says he will investigate and get back to him next time he visits.

Erik is also angry about how pathetically grateful he gets at the idea that Charles will visit again.

None of this compares in the slightest to how angry he feels a few days later when Stryker comes back with a vial of his drug and Erik finds himself telling everything he can remember about Charles, about Cerebro, about Mystique, about the Brotherhood, about Echo. Everything.

He's burning inside. The next time Charles comes, Stryker gasses Erik's hateful plastic cube. "You should have killed me when you had the chance, Charles!" he calls. Even as he loses consciousness, he's not sure what he means by that. Even after all this, he doesn't wish for death. He wishes for freedom.

When he wakes up, he knows that he has failed completely. He tries to read, but he absolutely cannot focus. He experiments with a hunger strike, but after a few days Stryker simply gives him IV nutrients with a clever plastic needle. Just when he thinks he is beyond hope, he feels a familiar tingle at the edge of mind. Honed by months of mental starvation, this fragment of metal feels like the last glass of water in a desert. Thirstily, he pulls every last atom from that sadistic guard. It feels so good. He allows himself a moment of whimsy, crossing his arms like a genie as he crosses that damnable chasm and gets back to solid ground. The metal follows his command and destroys every pathetic human in its path. When he reaches the outside, he isn't sure where to go. The prison is in the middle of nowhere. He glances around, pulling more and more metal into his orbit. A police car with sirens flashing pulls up, and he lifts it into the air. He's about to drop it when he hears a familiar voice. "Erik! No!" Mystique shouts.

God, he loves that woman. He gently lowers the car back to the ground and climbs in the front passenger seat. He leans over and kisses her quickly. She immediately peels out of the prison. Gambit is in the back, shuffling a deck of cards.

"Good to have you back, boss," Gambit says.

"Thank you, Gambit."

"Where are the others?" he asks.

Mystique shrugs. "Echo is in Stryker's base at Alkali Lake. We haven't found records or had contact from Sabretooth or Toad. It's possible they're dead, but it's also possible they are just staying away from places the Brotherhood has been known to frequent."

"Well, we have bigger concerns," he says grimly, and he tells them about Charles Xavier and the information he's given Stryker. "We have to get to Alkali Lake," he says. "Immediately."

"I'll stop and get a less conspicious car and some food, and then we can drive straight there," Mystique says.

Magneto nods. "Good." With his power, he caresses the car, the road signs, Gambit's belt buckle, everything. It's like being reborn.

She stops at a Wal-Mart in a medium-sized town in western New York.

Magneto quickly changes into the clothes Mystique has brought for him while she picks up a few items from the deli. They abandon the police car and he selects a new SUV for him. It opens at his will. He nods at Mystique, which she correctly interprets as a sign that he should drive.

Gambit gets in the backseat again, still shuffling cards anxiously. Magneto grumpily eats a turkey sandwich.

He explores the boundaries of his powers, trying to find the farthest piece of metal he can. He senses... something big. "Stop," he tells Mystique.

"What?"

"I think... something's coming. Can you pull off road?"

Mystique shrugs. "I guess we'll test this SUV. If it works, we could be in commercials."

It does, and they stop in a clearing just off the road. The three of them get out of the car and look up at the sky.

"Shit," Gambit says. "What are we going to do about tornados?"

"Keep your fingers crossed that Storm knows what she is doing," Magneto says.

She does, and the tornados dissipate. But the Blackbird begins plummeting down to the clearing. Magneto tries to catch it with his power, and at first it's beyond his abilities. It has been too long. But his strength returns in time, and the X-Jet touches down gently.

"When will these people learn how to fly?" he says, lightly.

He explains Stryker's plan to the X-Men.

"Wait a minute. How would Stryker even know where to find Cerebro in the first place?" Storm asks, with hostility. And Magneto is forced to reveal his betrayal.

He is hopeful that Jean Grey will be able to find something from Kurt, the Nightcrawler. He knows Jean isn't as practiced at telepathy as Charles, but still, there could be useful information.

"He's at Alkali Lake," Jean says, which Mystique had already known.

He sees Gambit staring at Wolverine, and wonders if Gambit will talk to his old colleague.

He does, but only after Mystique has paid Logan a visit first, so Logan isn't really in the mood to believe anything from the Brotherhood.

On the jet, he, Mystique, and Gambit sit in the back. Gambit is unbearably fidgety. It makes Magneto nervous just to watch him.

He's a little surprised when one of Xavier's young students sits with them.

"So. They say you're the bad guy," he sullenly says.

"Is that what they say?" he laughs.

"What's your name?"

"John."

"What's your real name, John?"

"Pyro."

He receives a demonstration of Pyro's abilities. Potentially very useful. He smiles.

"You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different." He never wants this mutant boy to ever feel as helpful as he has. And the very fact that he was willing to sit back with them potentially indicated a disenchantment with Charles' Dream.

He hates having to rely on the X-Men for anything. They wrapped him up and deliverd him to Stryker. Disgusting. He sends Mystique into the base. He knows she'll do him proud.

"She's good," Logan says, after Mystique enters with control room within minutes of leaving the jet.

"You have no idea," he says proudly.

He, Mystique, and Gambit enter the base with the X-Men. He tries to keep his fury—at Stryker, at Charles, at humanity—in check. It won't be useful. Not yet.

Inside the control room he scans the monitors. He doesn't see Charles or Echo. Gambit is scanning all the screens with near panic.

"Where is she?" he whispers.

"Who?" Jean asks.

Gambit looks uncomfortable, and Magneto doesn't think Gambit had meant to speak aloud. "Friend of ours. Name's Echo."

"I found record of her being here," Mystique says. "I... I think she might be with Xavier."

"Shit," Gambit says.

"What's your friend do?" Logan asks.

"She magnifies the power of other mutants," Gambit says.

"Shit," Logan says. The men share a glance, and Magneto wonders how much Gambit was able to tell Logan about his past the prior night.

They break up. Storm and Nightcrawler go to rescue the X-Children. He, Gambit, Mystique, and Jean go after Cerebro. Wolverine goes after Stryker. Magneto suspects the Wolverine will be almost as vicious as he would be, if he can reach Stryker.

They find Cerebro, and he takes pleasure in demolishing the guards with their own weapons. He puts on his helmet just before Mystique cries out in pain. Mystique is strong and he wonders how very bad it must be. He feels with his power, finds the shutoff mechanism he remembers.

He enters Cerebro and finds Charles, Jason, and Echo.

He looks sadly at his old friend, the one who betrayed him, and who he in turn betrayed.

"How does it feel from in here, Charles? From here it doesn't look like they're playing by your rules. It's time to play by theirs."

He can't resist the temptation to reverse Cerebro, though he's almost postitive the X-Men will find some way to get in and stop it. It will be their mess to clean up, not his. Mystique transforms and enters the room, followed by Gambit.

Echo, holding Charles' hand, looks up at them with blank, silvery eyes.

"_Cherie_?" Gambit asks, smoothing her hair. But she doesn't respond.

"I think she'll be all right when the effects of Stryker's drug wear off," Magneto says. "And she's probably exhausted from helping Charles."

Gambit picks her up, and she doesn't protest.

"Stryker likely only gave her one instruction, to help Charles. I doubt she'll fight us."

"That is heartening, boss," Gambit says, not quite bitterly.

Indeed, she doesn't fight them, but she doesn't do much of anything.

They leave the base and find Stryker, crying out in pain and chained to a helicopter. Magneto smiles and begins to think about what he could do with those chains.

NOTES: Title from "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who.


	10. Getting Better All the Time

Chapter 10: Getting Better All the Time (Gambit)

Gambit expects some kind of plea or threat from Stryker, but he remembers the intense pain he'd felt from Xavier's attack and realizes he hadn't been in a position to speak, either.

Gambit may have killed a few people in his time, but he's never considered himself a sadist. However, he is really enjoying watching Stryker squirm. He's debating whether or not to set Nori in the snow so he can hit Stryker with something, but before he can decide, the chains wrapped around Stryker begin to tighten around his neck. Magneto sends him to a piece of broken wall and drives the chains straight through.

"You shall die, Stryker, along with all traces of your facility. I believe there are five or six more minutes until that dam bursts. I hope you enjoy your final moments," Magneto says, coldly.

"See you in hell, _mon ami_," Gambit says.

They board the helicopter, and before they take off Magneto and Mystique notice Pyro, the boy from Xavier's school, watching them from a few dozen feet away. They invite him on board, and the boy nods and climbs in.

He stands and watches out the window until Alkali Lake is out of view. Then he sits down across from Gambit, and makes glancing eye contact with him as if asking permission. Gambit nods.

Pyro tries to act like a sullen, cool teenager, but Gambit can tell he's scared. He wants to welcome the boy, but he's a little preoccupied. Nori is lying on the helicopter's bench seat, with her head in his lap. He murmurs to her, sometimes in English, sometimes in Creole. She doesn't respond to either.

She's been away from him for longer than he's been with her. But he's spent six months consumed with the idea of finding her. Although he always maintained that he was looking for her, a deep secret part of him had written her off for dead. He can't stop touching her: her hair, her face, her hands, just making sure that she is really there.

He and Nori sit next to Pyro while Mystique and Magneto pilot their new helicopter.

Then, an hour into the flight, Nori's eyelashes flutter and she looks up at him with the same deep brown eyes he remembers. "Remy?" she asks.

He grins broadly. "_Ma cher_," he says. "I'm here."

"Is this real?"

He strokes her hair. "Of course it is."

"He... he told me you were dead."

"He wishes I was dead."

"So this is real?"

"It's real."

"Prove it."

"What?" 

"Gambit, if this is real, prove it," she says urgently.

He frowns. This is not the reunion he's been anticipating. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a playing card, which he charges slightly.

"Did you feel that?"

She looks at him, warily. "Do it again."

He does, and this time he feels her power focus on him. He loses control of the charge and it explodes in his hand.

"You're hurt," she says.

"No, _cherie_, I'm just fine."

"Is it safe now?"

"I think so," he says. She begins to shiver violently.

Gambit looks across the helicopter. "Pyro, _mon ami_, could you see if there is a blanket or something around here?"

"Sure." Pyro returns with an emergency kit from the back wall. It has a shiny silver emergency blanket, which Gambit wraps Nori in. It crinkles.

"Thank you," he says.

"No problem," a shaken Pyro says. When he went over to deliver the blanket, he'd gotten a good look into Nori's face, which admittedly looks a little crazy at the moment. He can't blame her. He knows what Stryker is capable of. She'll bounce back, he assures himself. She'd been the sanest member of the Brotherhood, as far as he was concerned.

"So tired, Remy," she breathes.

"You just sleep, _cherie_, and I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Love you," she says, barely audibly.

"Love you too," he whispers. She falls asleep and Gambit watches her breathe. Her shivering has lessened, though not stopped.

"So is she, like, your girlfriend?" Pyro asks.

"Yeah," Gambit says, with a crooked grin. "But we have had kind of a long distance relationship for awhile now."

"She was with Stryker?"

"For a long time. Too long," he says sadly.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"I hope so, _mon ami_. I think so. She is strong, but Stryker... he can change people."

"Were you ever in Stryker's base?"

"A long time ago, I... it was a long time ago."

He looks down at Nori's sleeping face and is silent for a moment. She has a black eye, which positively infuriates him.

"So, Pyro, what brings you to the Brotherhood?"

Pyro shrugs. "I was sick of the bullshit at Xavier's. Sick of humans betraying me."

Gambit nods, absently. "I'm sorry I am not better company right now."

"Hey, it's cool," Pyro says. "You guys got a lot of catching up to do."

"We're not catching much of anything right now."

"Her name is Echo, right?"

He nods.

"And she's in the Brotherhood too?"

"Yeah."

"What's she do?"

"She can magnify the powers of other mutants. And she's an empath."

"Echo. I get it. Empath... does that mean she can read minds?"

"Nah. Lucky for me, _non?_" He winks. He knows Nori would elbow him if she were awake. "She just kind of, projects her emotions on people. But only when you use your powers."

"Huh." Pyro says. "So she can make people feel different things?"

"Not... exactly. It's hard to explain. You'll feel it when she is stronger, _mon ami_. It is more like, I don't know, more like watching a TV show and knowing how the character on the show feels. And sometimes you feel sad just because you like the character and the character is sad. But you know... you know it is separate from your own emotions."

"I get it, I think. Good, I'm sick of Xavier and Jean meddling with me. Can she fight?"

Gambit thinks back to her training sessions and half-smiles. "Not really."

The helicopter lands at a house that Gambit hadn't known about. He's not mad that Mystique didn't tell him about it; he trusts her judgment. And her paranoia.

Mystique leads them through the house. "Pyro, you can pick out a bedroom upstairs. We can get you the things you need soon." He nods and climbs the stairs, glancing at the four of them as he leaves.

"Gambit, there's a little infirmary in the basement. You can take Echo there. Erik? Do you need medical assistance?"

He hesitates, and Mystique glares. "You come to the infirmary, too."

Mystique gives Echo a brief clinical examination. "We can't really tell anything until she wakes up, but it looks like nothing's broken. The bruises will heal. Frankly, I would also guess that there's been some sexual assault, but we'll ask her when she regains consciousness. Gambit, why don't you just take her up to one of the bedrooms, where she can be comfortable?"

He nods. He wishes it were possible to kill Stryker a second time.

"Mystique, are there any other clothes here?"

"No, I didn't have time to stock this house with anything. I'll go out and get some things tomorrow."

Gambit considers. "I just don't want her to wake up in that _maudit_ white jumpsuit." He strips off his coat and his long-sleeved black shirt and dresses Nori in the shirt. It will do, for now. He puts his coat back on over his undershirt.

Mystique is examining Magneto's ribs as he leaves, and he doubts that the exam will end in the infimary. He's glad to see them reunited.

He picks out a bedroom and gently deposits Nori in the bed. He pulls up a chair and sits next to her, holding her hand. Then he thinks of Pyro, alone on his first night in the Brotherhood house. He knows what Nori would do if she were able, and he goes down the hall and finds Pyro's door.

"Hey, Gambit," Pyro says, with just a hint of surprise breaking through his cool affect.

"Hey _mon ami_, I was wondering if you would like to keep me company while I wait for Nori to wake up?"

Pyro hesitates—if this is charity, he wants to reject it, but if it's an actual request for help, he does want to help—and says, "Sure."

Between Gambit and Pyro, there's a lot of nervous energy in the room. Much of it is directed toward lighter-flicking and card-shuffling.

Gambit asks occasional questions to Pyro, mainly getting one-word answers. Finally, he asks, "You play poker?"

Pyro shrugs. "A little."

"You wanna play now?"

"I don't have any money."

"Don't matter. Just to pass the time. Or, you can start a tab," he says with a grin.

Pyro pulls his chair next to Gambit, and they use the edge of Nori's bed for a table. Pyro glances at him questioningly, but Gambit says, "Ah, she won't mind."

They play for hours, with Gambit occasionally dispensing tips. He holds her hand the whole time. It isn't easy to play cards one-handed, but Gambit has enough experience to make it look cool. As the evening turns into night, Pyro stifles a few yawns, and Gambit hopes the young mutant doesn't go to bed. As is, he can just barely stop thinking things like _What if she doesn't wake up?_ And _What if she's totally crazy now?_ At first he did only ask Pyro to sit with him as a friendly gesture, but he really doesn't want to be alone right now.

Finally, though, she stirs. Remy feels her hand move slightly, and he turns to look at her face. She props herself up on her elbows.

"Hey, LeBeau, deal me in?" He laughs and looks into her eyes. They're clear and bright.

"You sure you're up to poker? You wouldn't rather play some Go Fish?"

"I can tell you I'm not up to strip poker. I'm pretty confident that I'm not wearing any pants right now."

"You're not. We were kind of busy escaping, we didn't have time to stop at the mall. Besides, I think you look good in that outfit."

They hear Pyro shift uneasily on his chair. She glances at him, then back at Remy, a little nervously.

"Oh, it's all right, _cherie_. This is Pyro. He's in the Brotherhood now."

She sits all the way up, leaning against the wall behind her. Some of the cards fall off the bed. "Hey, Pyro," she says. "I'm Nori. Or Echo." She extends a hand. He leans forward to take it.

"Hey, I'm sorry for... what happened to you."

"Thank you," she says graciously. "Could one of you get me a glass of water, please?" 

"I'll go," Pyro volunteers. She gives him a big smile. "Thanks, brother."

"Where are we, Remy?" she asks.

"A new Brotherhood safe house. Mystique set it up. I'm not really sure where it is, but we got an ocean view."

"Where does the Brotherhood's money come from?"

"Honestly, I'm not real sure. We have a lot of different accounts in different places. All that stuff, Magneto and Mystique set it up before I got here."

She nods.

"What happened?"

"You mean yesterday?"

"You can start there, I guess."

Pyro returns with the water, but Gambit doesn't notice until Nori's eyes focus behind him. She smiles at him again. "Thank you, Pyro." She drinks the whole glass in 2 gulps.

"Uh, do you want some more?" Pyro asks.

"If you wouldn't mind," Nori says with a shy smile.

"'Course not," Pyro responds, winning points from Gambit.

"The last thing I really remember is leaving from that rock house," Nori continues. "Everything after that is really fragmented."

Remy hesitates. "But you remember being with Stryker?"

She nods.

"Hmm. Guess he wasn't quite finished with you, then."

She looks up at him, alarmed. He rubs her hand. "No, no, don't worry, _cherie_. He is dead now. But I mean, we met some other mutants from Stryker's lab, and he just wiped their memories clean when he was... you know, when his experiments were complete."

"Oh." She relaxes slightly. Pyro returns with more water.

"Hey, uh, do you guys need anything else? 'Cause I was thinking, otherwise, I might go to bed."

Nori gives him a serene smile. "Of course. Get some rest, Pyro. Thanks for your help."

Gambit nods. "Thanks for keeping me company, _mon ami_."

"Welcome," Pyro mumbles. He quietly pulls the door shut behind him.

"He seems like a sweet kid," Nori says, sipping the water more slowly now.

Gambit laughs. "I'm not sure most people would describe him that way. But I think he'll be a good fit for the Brotherhood."

"He's so young..."

"He don't have nowhere else to go."

"Where did he come from?"

"He used to be one of Xavier's students. But he quit."

"Remy?"

"_Oui?_"

"Did Magneto's machine work?"

He's surprised. That was so long ago. "No. The X-Men destroyed it before it reached the UN leaders."

"That's what Stryker told me, but... I didn't know." She stares at her hands for a long time. "He also told me... he said... that the machine didn't work. That it would have killed everyone. Instead of turning them into mutants. Is that..." she trails off.

"I think it is true."

She lets out a long, ragged breath.

"But, like I told you, the machine never touched anyone. Any humans."

"What about... did anyone..."

"Toad and Sabretooth are both missing. They might be dead, but I don't think so. They're both pretty tough, _non_? It has just been hard to communicate. Perhaps now that Magneto is here they will come back to us."

"Is Magneto okay?"

"Well, he's been with Stryker, too. But he's out now. He's probably down the hall with Mystique."

Her eyes unfocus slightly, then she looks at him and nods. "He's here."

"What about Mystique," he asks, curiously. He's not sure of all the nuance to the way her power works.

She shrugs. "Don't know. I can only feel mutants when they're using their powers. When she's blue Mystique, I can't find her. Magneto's pretty much always using his powers... like even if he's not moving anything, he's got this extra sense he's always using. So I can find him." She stops. "Hey. What about that little girl?"

"What little girl?"

"She was... she was with Xavier and I. She wanted us to help her. She was probably 7 or 8..."

Gambit looks at her hesitantly. Maybe she isn't quite all there.

"Oh," she realizes. "That was't real, was it?"

He relaxes slightly. "Nah, I don't think so."

"Was Xavier really there?"

He nods.

"What happened to him?"

Gambit pauses. "Magneto left him there... but I think that the X-Men probably got him back. They were doing okay when we left."

"What about... my sister?"

"_Cherie_, you sure you want to talk about all this right now?'

She trembles. "Yeah. I... I need to know."

He squeezes her hand. "Nori, _cherie_, I don't know for sure what happened to your sister. We saw her when we first got to Alkali, and then we never did."

"You mean she might still be there?"

"_Cherie_... after we left, the dam burst. It would have flooded the whole base. The whole area. But your sister, I don't know, maybe she made it out." He isn't optimistic, and it carries through in his voice.

He stands up. "Don't leave," she cries out.

"I won't," he reassures her. He walks around the bed and sits behind her, cradling her in his strong arms. She turns against his chest and weeps. He doesn't know what to say, so he just holds her.

There's a knock at the door. "Uh... come in," Gambit calls. Magneto walks in, wearing his black battle outfit and holding a plastic shopping bag. No cape or helmet, though. He looks regal and grouchy. His face softens slightly when he sees Nori.

"I just wanted to inquire about your well-being, Echo," he says.

She turns away from Gambit and takes a few shuddering breaths. "I'm okay."

Magneto looks at her and laughs bitterly. "If this is okay, I would truly hate to see you when you are having a bad day, my dear."

"I mean..." she says. "I've been better. But I'm free."

"Yes, you are. I... take it Gambit is filling you in on events you missed?"

She nods, and her lip trembles.

"Mystique is cooking breakfast. You should eat something. Oh, she also bought you these," he says, handing over the shopping bag. Gambit takes it and opens it so Nori can see. Underwear, sweatpants, a T-shirt.

"We'll get more clothing later," Magneto adds, "But these will do for now."

"Thank you," she whispers.

After Magneto leaves, Gambit says, "_Cherie_, you don't have to go if you don't feel ready."

She takes a few deep breaths. "No, no, I think I should go see everyone. And I am hungry," she admits. She stands up and puts on the clothing Magneto brought up. There are socks, but no shoes.

"I'll carry you if you want," Gambit offers.

She laughs. It's her real, throaty laugh and he hadn't realized how much he'd missed that sound until just now. "Even though I'm wearing pants now?"

"Even though."

"No, thank you Remy, I think I can walk." She does hold his hand as they walk down the stairs.

NOTE: Title is from "Getting Better" by the Beatles.


	11. Show A Little Faith

Chapter 11: Show A Little Faith, There's Magic in the Night (Nori)

She holds Gambit's hand and pretends it's only to assuage his male ego, but honestly, it's her tether to the world right now. After months in the Brotherhood house, and even longer months under mind control in Stryker's base, she's feeling incredibly skittish about her new surroundings, and secretly she still worries that soon she will wake up and be back in her fucking cell.

At least it's warm inside, though. She hasn't had bare arms in quite some time. When they get downstairs, she smiles at the rest of the Brotherhood.

"Hey, Echo, Gambit," Pyro says.

"Hey, brother," she says.

Gambit nods in response.

Mystique has made a surprisingly elaborate breakfast—eggs, pancakes, sausage, fruit. Nori watches Mystique watch Magneto eat. She takes pancakes and fruit and enjoys her first bites of food outside Stryker's base. But then, he's behind her, no doubt with another dose of his drug. "Please, no," she says, and shrinks in on herself. There's no point fighting him.

"Um, sorry, I was just... trying to get to the sink..." Pyro says.

She turns and looks at him. It's not Stryker with a syringe behind her. It's Pyro with a sticky, empty plate.

"Of course," she says. "Sorry, I thought... I thought you were someone else."

Gambit and Magneto look at her with sympathy. Mystique's expression is unreadable.

"It's all right_, cher_, nobody here's gonna hurt you," Gambit says.

She nods. "I know, I know. I just... I was just mistaken." She feels her face flush with embarrassment. She makes it through the rest of breakfast uneventfully, but when she washes her plate after breakfast she gasps in terror when Gambit sidles up behind her to rub her shoulders.

"Hey, hey, it's just me."

"Sorry, Remy, I'm just... just please don't come up behind me like that, okay?"

"Of course, _cherie_. _Je suis désolé._"

She spends much longer than necessary scrubbing her plate.

"So, what do you want to do today?"

"I need to talk to Magneto," she says decisively.

"Well, I'm sure he's already got an office set up somewhere in this house. What d'you need to talk to him about?"

"I want to tell people what happened to me."

"You sure about that?"

She nods. "Yes. People need to know what our own government is doing. And I think... people would listen to me. Some of them, anyway. I made a name for myself by telling everybody all about my life, even the parts that nobody likes to talk about. And... well, people are afraid of Magneto. And I think that is good, it's good that people who would hurt mutants are afraid of him. But people aren't afraid of me. They should hear this story from someone like me."

Gambit looks thoughtful. "Well, you may be right. You know, when you... when you were with Stryker... I went and read your website. And all the messages people left for you there. There were a lot, _cher_. People love you."

"Ah... they love what I do. Did."

"Maybe. But I think some of what you do is just being you."

She grins. "Anyway, do you think that Magneto would think it's a good idea?"

"Maybe. Even if he doesn't, don't mean it's not a good idea. But I think you can persuade him. I think he's got a soft spot for you. You want me to go with you?"

"No, thanks. I know where he is. And I think I should talk to him about this by myself." She puts her hands on his shoulders and rises onto her toes to kiss him. "But I'll talk to you later, love."

She sets off confidently down a hallway and knocks on the door she knows Magneto is behind. After a short pause, he opens it.

"Hello, Echo."

"Hi, Magneto." He looks at her shrewdly when she says that. It's a signal that she wants to talk to him about Brotherhood business, which she almost never did before.

"Come in," he says, leading her to a desk with a laptop on it. It's funny—this office has a metal desk and chairs like his last one, but no books on the shelves. She wonders if he'll replenish his stash from Amazon or what.

"How are you, my dear?"

She looks at him solemnly. "Magneto, I want to apologize to you."

He looks genuinely surprised. "Whatever for?"

"Before... I never really believed you about Stryker. I thought maybe you just wanted to keep me around for my power. I mean, I wasn't sure either way. But I had doubts. But clearly, you were right about Stryker."

He gives her a sad smile. "I can hardly blame you for that. Did you come to ask forgiveness?"

"Not exactly. I came to make penance," she says with a slight grin.

"That isn't necessary."

"Hear me out," she says earnestly. "Look, Magneto, I really appreciate what you and the Brotherhood have done for me. And I want to help. And I think I can. I'm not sure how much you know about my life, before... but I was this kind of popular musician. I mean, I wasn't like Ani DiFranco famous, but I had fans. Oh," she says, noting Magneto's blank face, "You don't know Ani DiFranco, do you? Well, trust me, every college student knows who she is. And you should know her too, because she's a mutant rights activist, even though she's human. And people listen to her. And people used to listen to me, too. I had a blog I used to update a lot, well, two blogs actually." She pauses. "You know blogs, right?"

"They are online journals, correct?"

"Yeah. Well, I had a music one, and like, a life and politics one. And I was always... I shared a lot. I thought it was important to talk about the things nobody wants to talk about. Depression, rape, abortion... I didn't want to gloss over my shit. I was so sick of this society that teaches people to suffer in silence. And a lot of people responded. And I think... well, I think the Brotherhood has a PR problem."

"Excuse me?"

"No, no, hear me out. Look, when I was with Stryker, I don't know about you, but I read tons of magazines. Mainly _People_ and shit like that. And people are terrified of you, and by extension, the Brotherhood. And I think that's good! I mean, you... it's like the Cold War, or whatever, people should know that if they eff with mutants, you will eff them up. But, umm, okay, let me get to my idea. I think I should make a video, of myself talking about what happened to me. And my sister. And what happened with Stryker's machine. And how the Brotherhood saved me. And then if we could post it online, without anyone being able to track it, I think it would be a big news story. And obviously some people wouldn't believe it, or think I was just brainwashed, or whatever. But I think... I think people would listen. Some of them. And it might help them understand. And it might make some more mutants want to join us."

She bites her lip and continues, "I know... I know I don't know how to fight, or plan big missions, or whatever. But I spent 12 years as a touring musician. I think I've been to every college campus in America. I know how to promote myself, and the causes I believe in. I know how to connect to people. I know how to tell my own story."

He looks at her long and hard. "You think you're going to win the war against humanity with a website?"

"No, no. But I think that propaganda is an element of warfare. You take it on faith that mutants will understand that a war is coming. But people... don't."

"So, tell me, my dear, what do you want to tell them?"

She hesitates. "I would rather, if you could just give me a video camera, I'd rather just make the video on my own. And show it to you later. I think it would be more natural to me that way."

He looks at her long and hard. She meets his gaze levelly. "Very well," he says. "I'll have Mystique get a video camera for you. Do you need anything else?"

"Well, a computer, and something to connect the computer to the camera. And a secure Internet connection." She hesitates. "And I think I should do it soon. While I still look like this." She gestures at her bruised face and arms.

He nods. "Echo, I meant to ask you. Do you require any further medical attention?"

She shrugs. "I'll heal."

"I mean-"

"I know what you mean," she says sharply. "Yes, Stryker allowed his guards to rape me. But he also made sure I had decent medical care. He didn't want to deal with anything so unproductive as an infection."

His mouth tightens. "Yes, Echo, I'll make sure you get a video camera."

"Thank you, Magneto." She reaches across the table and squeezes his hand before leaving.

She paces around the new house, looking for Remy. She finds him smoking on the back porch.

"Hey sugar, can I bum a smoke?" she asks.

He smiles and lights one for her. "You smoke, _cher?_"

She takes a drag. "Nope, I quit a long time ago."

He laughs. "Me, too."

They smoke in silence for a few minutes. "God," she says. "I haven't had a cigarette in years."

"Why'd you quit?"

"After my niece was born, my sister didn't want me hanging around if I was gonna smoke. And she was right. And I love my niece. So I quit. How about you?"

"Me? Oh, I quit smoking whenever I'm not in a bar."

She grins and he stomps out his butt. She looks out at the ocean. It reminds her of Liberty Island, and she shivers.

"You cold, _cherie_?"

She shakes her head. "No." A strong breeze blows and she says, "Well, a little. But I don't want to go inside." She's gazing at the ocean.

"Here," he says. He comes up behind her and puts his leather duster over her shoulders. She stiffens in fear for a split second, then relaxes.

"Sorry," he says, helplessly.

"No, Remy, it's okay. You know I'm not afraid of you. It's just... just a reaction."

He nods. "You know, I spent some time with Stryker myself?"

She looks up at him. "You did? You never told me that."

"I suppose I didn't want to scare you, _cherie_."

"Well," she says. "I'm scared now."

She stamps out her cigarette, pulls the coat over her arms, and takes his hand.

"How long were you with him?"

"'Bout two years. But it was a while ago. Not at Alkali. He didn't have that mind control drug yet."

She shivers. "That drug was the worst."

"I thought you were gonna say that the worst thing was being away from me."

She laughs. "Well, that was second worst. What, what did Stryker want with you?"

"Same thing he wanted with you, I guess. Wanted to figure out how to use my power for his own advantage."

"I can't believe he's been doing this to mutants for so long and getting away with it."

"I think it finally caught up with him."

"Remy, can I have another cigarette?"

"Of course, _cher_." He lights two and hands her one.

She whispers, "I'm glad he's dead."

"Me too."

"Is that bad? I don't... I never thought I'd be glad that someone was dead."

"Stryker wasn't just anybody," he says darkly. "Him being dead means the world is a little bit safer for us. For mutants."

"When he died... did he suffer?"

"Yes."

"Good," she says, then covers her mouth with her left hand.

"Hey, it's all right, _cherie_. He deserved to suffer."

She sighs, shakily. "I guess... I have always believed in nonviolence, in forgiveness. But I guess I have never really had to test myself. I don't know if I could ever forgive him."

"He wouldn't have asked for your forgiveness."

"I guess not."

"Hey, _cher_, you got to play the hand you were dealt. You've forgiven almost everybody. Just one exception. That's pretty good, right?"

"Guess it's the best I can do at the moment."

"Nori, you listen to me. You came out of six months of imprisonment and torture with your spirit intact. That is an accomplishment and you should be proud of it. Don't you feel guilty about nothing."

"I'll try," she whispers.

"Any time you need a reminder, you just ask me. You didn't do anything wrong. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Now let's go inside. I am freezing," he says melodramatically.

She hits him on the shoulder, lightly. "Take your coat back, love. I think I'd trip on it if I tried to walk in it." She shrugs out of it and adds, "Anyway, it looks better on you."

"Not true."

They head inside and find Pyro hanging around the kitchen.

"Hey, Pyro," Nori says.

"Hey."

"What'cha doing?"

He shrugs. "I'm not really sure what to do."

Gambit grins. "Don't worry, _mon ami_, I am sure that Magneto will have a project for you soon enough."

"Let's play cards," Nori says. "But not poker, though."

"_Non_? What other game is there?"

"Ahh, let's play euchre."

"You need four for euchre_, ma cher_."

She shakes her head. "No, you can play with a two on one rotation. Whoever calls suit against the other two."

"What the hell is euchre?"

"Card game," Gambit says.

"I think Gambit might cheat less at it," Nori says with a wink. "We'll teach you."

Gambit pulls out a deck of cards and removes the low-value cards with dizzying speed. He hands Pyro and Nori each a four and a six, and she explains scorekeeping and point-taking.

"I'll take first deal," Gambit says, and Nori laughs.

"Of course you will," she says, fondly.

It takes Pyro a few rounds to get the hand of euchre, but Nori and Gambit are fairly evenly matched. By the time Magneto comes to the kitchen for lunch, Nori and Gambit each have 9 points and Pyro has 6. Pyro calls spades, but only gets two tricks.

Nori and Gambit high five each other.

"Not bad for a beginner, though," Gambit tells Pyro.

Pyro shrugs.

"I am glad you are all finding productive ways to stay occupied," Magneto says acerbically. The three other mutants look up at him, stung.

"Sorry, boss, was there something you wanted us to be doing?" Gambit asks.

"Perhaps training your combat skills, rather than your card-playing skills?"

"Just thought maybe we'd earned a morning off," Gambit says.

Magneto opens his mouth to say something, but Nori focuses on him and uses her power to convey her hurt and disapproval. He frowns at her and she raises her eyebrows.

"Perhaps you are right, Gambit," he says. "But this afternoon, we will begin training anew."

"In the mean time, do you want to play with us?" Nori asks.

He smiles. "No, thank you."

Gambit is shuffling when Mystique walks in with two grocery bags. "There's more in the car," she says.

Pyro, Gambit, and Nori all get up to help. She picks up a bag that turns out to be mostly caned goods and grimaces. "Hey, let me get that one," offers Pyro.

She almost refuses, but instead she good-naturedly thanks him and hands over the bag. They're both looking at how thin her arms have become. She carries in a few bags of clothing.

"The groceries can go in the kitchen, of course," Mystique says when everything is in. "And I trust you can sort out the rest."

There's a fair amount of clothing for Nori, including a few dress suits and a pair of glasses with black plastic frames. She looks up at Mystique quizzically. "I thought those would be a good way for you to blend in."

Nori takes a moment to process that, and beams. Now that Stryker is dead, maybe she can actually leave the house.

"Of course, you should all lie low for the next few weeks or so," Mystique continues.

Since no one really feels up to cooking, Nori makes several boxes of macaroni and cheese after everything's been put away. The meal is uncomfortable. Magneto is on edge, which makes everyone else nervous.

"Gambit, Pyro, Mystique-I'll see you in the training room in the basement in thirty minutes. Echo, you may spend the afternoon on the project we discussed earlier. You'll find everything you need in my office."

She nods. After lunch is cleaned up, she heads down to Magneto's office and finds a pretty nice digital video camera in a blue Best Buy bag. She sets it up on a tripod, hits record, and starts crying. _Not a great start,_ she thinks. She turns the camera off and takes some deep breaths. She decides to make a few notes to organize her thoughts. Finally, she connects Magneto's laptop to the Internet and pulls up her old Flickr gallery. She finds a family picture of-her mother, herself, her sister, brother-in-law, and niece-and leaves it on the screen, which she places behind the tripod. Looking at the people she most wants to communicate with gives her strength.

She checks the first footage to see if she's too close to the camera. She wants people to see her arms-both how bruised and weird-looking they are, but also so her tattoos are visible, in case there's any question that it's her.

"Hi everybody. My name is Noriko Oyama. Some of you know me as Nori Oh, the musician. I guess a lot of people probably thought I was dead, and I want to say how sorry I feel for any pain this caused. The truth is, nine months ago I went into hiding because I learned that a man named William Stryker wanted to kidnap me and use my latent mutant abilities in experiments." She pauses. "I apologize to anyone who feels misled by my previous denials that I was a mutant. In fact, due to the passive nature of my abilities, I had no idea myself until Stryker infiltrated my doctor's office and had my blood tested, which is itself a massive violation of my rights. Six months ago, Stryker succeeded in his attempt to capture me. For six months, I have been tortured and experimented upon, leading up to a terrible plan. Yesterday, whether you are mutant or human, you probably felt an intense pain in your head and throughout you body. Stryker forced another mutant and myself to power a machine that caused this pain. If Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants had not broken in and saved us, this machine eventually would have killed all mutants on earth."

"William Stryker was a colonel in the United States army. When I was imprisoned by him-when, by the way, I had committed no crime and had never been given a trial-I was repeatedly raped by men wearing the uniforms of the United States Army. I am an American citizen. I had no idea such crimes were being carried out by our own armed forces, but they are. My sister, Yuriko, has been missing for three years. I learned that she has also been taken by Stryker, as have a countless number of other mutants."

"I know that this is difficult to believe. I had trouble believing it myself until it happened to me. Please. Demand answers. Hold the United States government responsible for what has been done to mutants in this nation."

"And please, remember the wise words of Martin Niemoller. 'First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.' They are coming for the mutants. Speak out for us."

She looks down and takes a deep breath,, then looks back up at the camera and smiles. "Finally, I just want to tell my family and my friends that I miss them and I love them. Thank you for listening."

She stands up and turns off the camera. She watches the video back, and edits out herself sitting and standing. She notices the She makes sure to clear the browser history and close her family picture. She leaves the file on Magneto's empty desktop.

It has only taken her an hour. She's sure the others will still be training for quite some time.

In the Best Buy bag she also finds some books about computers, which she assumes are for her. She'd almost forgotten Mystique's discovery of Nori's surprising aptitude for hacking, just before the attack on Liberty Island. She starts skimming _Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems._

She jumps when Magneto opens the door, and she's sure he noticed, even though she's regained her composure by the time he makes it from the door to his desk. She could really do without receiving a dose of adrenaline every time she hears a loud noise.

"Echo. How are you doing, my dear?" He seems calmer now than he did at lunch. She guesses he probably has a lot of nervous energy right now himself.

"Okay," she says. "I made my video. It's on your desktop."

He nods. "Would you like me to watch it now?"

"Yeah. I mean, if you're not busy."

He opens the laptop and watches her video. Afterward, he looks up at her sympathetically. "Perhaps you're right, my dear. Perhaps this is the kind of thing people need to see."

She smiles. "So, can I post it?"

He nods. "Mystique told me that she installed an IP blocker and set up a proxy server for our connection, and just to be sure, right now we're connecting with a cellular modem that cannot be tracked back to us.."

Those words sound familiar from Nori's skimming. "Great," she says. She sits down and logs into her YouTube account for the first time in nine months. She uploads the entitles it "Show a little faith, there's magic in the night" and in the description box she writes, "Please watch. May all beings be free from suffering. XOXO Nori." She tags it, "mutants" "mutant rights" "mutant equality" "freedom" "nori oh" "noriko oyama" "attack" "stryker" "us army."

Magneto, glancing over her shoulder, asks, "What is all of that supposed to mean?"

"Just another way to convince people that it's really me."

She logs into her WordPress account and creates a blog entry with the same title and embeds the video. Below it she writes, "Hello all. I am still alive and I miss you. Please watch this. It's important. XOXO Nori." She also launches her remote FTP client and uploads the video directly to her website and provides a link from the blog for people to directly download the video, in case YouTube took it down. She hits "post" and taps her fingers nervously on the desk.

Magneto places a hand on her shoulder. She refreshes the YouTube page and finds that it has received a few dozen hits already. There are a few comments-

"OMG NORI ARE U OK"

"LOL IS THIS REAL?"

"Super scary! Nori, we're so glad you're okay."

"Die mutie bitch."

"Nori! We missed you!"

She folds down the laptop. "Let's look again in a few hours and see if any news outlets pick it up."

"I confess I'm surprised by how many people have already seen it."

"I had a lot of subscribers on YouTube, so they'd all get notified that I had a new video."

"I'm proud of you, Echo. I know this couldn't have been easy for you."

She smiles. "Let's just hope it works the way I think it will."

NOTE: Title is from "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen.


	12. No Surrender

Chapter 12: No Surrender (Magneto)

He and Echo cook dinner together. He's craving red meat, which she refuses to touch. She makes some sort of vegetable couscous dish. He feels her anxiety. Before they were taken by Stryker, he had gotten used to the emotional link they have and had often found it pleasant. Echo's emotions were usually fairly mild in his mind, and they tended to be cheery. Now, being in the same room as her makes him feel on the verge of a panic attack. He hates not being in control of his own mindset, and tries the mental techniques Charles once taught him. They help.

While they're cooking, Pyro slinks into the kitchen, flicking his lighter. Echo jumps at the sound of the clicking metal and then looks embarrassed.

Pyro observes, "Echo, I think maybe you have, like, PTSD or something."

"What?" she says, distractedly.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," he says. "At, um, Xavier's, we learned about it in psychology. I mean, unless you're just always this jumpy. No offense."

"Oh... that makes sense, I guess. You don't happen to remember what the cure for PTSD is, do you?"

He shrugs. "I think probably, like, therapy."

She looks at Magneto with a small smile. "Oh dear. Do you think it would be a good idea for me to see a therapist?"

He sighs. "Likely it would benefit you after your ordeal, but there's simply no way."

"I know. I was just kidding."

"The human mind is resilient, Echo. I believe you will recover with time, now that you are in a safe location." But he remembers her history of depression and wonders. He doesn't know if the Brotherhood could handle a projective empath in the midst of a severe depression.

A freshly showered Gambit comes down to the kitchen. He approaches Echo cautiously, from the side. He's already learned not to startle her. She smiles up at him. Magneto is thankful things seem to be working out between the two of them. Her vulnerability and his loyalty seem to be a good combination. And the two seem to have some common interests.

"Hey, _cher_, how'd your video go?"

"Oh, it went okay, I guess. We posted it a little while ago but I wanted to wait a few hours before we go to look at the response."

He squeezes her shoulder affectionately.

"What video?" Pyro asks.

"Um, I made a YouTube video. To talk about what Stryker did. And I posted it on my blog this afternoon."

Pyro looks at her. "Wait. Echo, are you Nori Oh?"

"Yeah."

He looks affronted. "You always said you weren't a mutant!"

"Well... I wasn't. I mean, I didn't know." She laughs. "You should just watch the video."

Magneto looks interested. "Pyro, you'd heard of Nori before?"

Pyro makes a face that implies this is a stupid question. "Yeah, I mean, I used to read her blog and stuff sometimes." He glances at her. "You, um, you look different now, though."

_Interesting_, Magneto thinks. He certainly hadn't heard of Nori Oh before she turned up in Stryker's files. Perhaps she hadn't been understating her popularity with younger mutants. 

"Yeah, I've been doing something different with my hair lately," she says, seriously. She puts the couscous dish in a serving bowl and moves it to the table.

"What is _that_?" Pyro asks.

"Couscous. You'll like it. It's like rice, but better," Nori says.

Mystique saunters into the kitchen, and they all sit down to eat. After dinner, they all follow Magneto back to his office to check the video has already received tens of thousands of hits, and hundreds of comments. It's the top story on Huffington Post and -which Echo assures him is important. It's also a breaking story on and .uk.

Echo pulls up the story on Huffington Post. It features two photos of Nori. One is a still image from her video. The other is a press photo of Nori posing with her guitar and a wide smile. The contrast is startling. She stares at the two photos for a second, then reads the article aloud.

"U. S. Army to Blame for Yesterday's Mysterious Pain, Alleges Nori Oh.'"

"'Missing musician and activist Noriko Oyama, popularly known as Nori Oh, has suddenly resurfaced on YouTube after nine months, during which she was presumed dead. The video, posted this evening on her blog and YouTube channel with the same account Nori once used to post exclusive songs and video blogs, depicts Nori looking gaunt and battered.'"

She pauses and touches her face. "Gaunt? Do I look gaunt? Um, anyway. 'The Japanese-American singer, age 34, reveals that she is a mutant, although she claims that her power, which she never discloses, was latent and previously unknown to her. She alleges that a U. S. Army colonel named William Stryker had held her against her will for six months and experimented on her. Most shockingly, she claims that the crippling pain felt across the globe yesterday was caused by a machine built by Stryker and the Army, intended to kill all mutants. Nori also claims that the attack was stopped by the mutant terrorist Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants, whom she credits with saving her.

Clearly, these allegations are stunning if true. Thus far, Huffington Post has received "No comments" from a number of Army officials.

There is also some dispute about whether or not the woman in the video is in fact Nori Oh, though consensus generally agrees that it is.

Nori's friend and frequent collaborator Rachael Shapiro, said, "It is definitely her. Everything about it... the way she talks, the way she named the video after a Bruce Springsteen song... it's her." Ex-boyfriend Lee River agrees, "That is definitely Nori." The singer's signature arm tattoos are visible in the video, which has already received thousands of hits and hundreds of comments. The video is embedded below. Also embedded is a video of the singer before her disappearance, for comparison's sake."

She shrugs.

"Let's watch the video," Pyro says. She clicks it and the room falls silent, listening to her story. They quietly applaud.

"What's the comparison video?" Gambit asks. "I want to see that."

"I'm not actually sure," Echo says. She clicks it and the screen fills with an image of Nori with short hair, sitting on an easy chair in what looks like a hotel room. She's wearing a tank top and her tattooed arms are clearly visible. "Hey everybody," she says in the video. "I'm on the road. We're in Missoula, Montana today-which is beautiful, by the way, you should all come visit- and I just wanted to talk to you guys about something really important, which is Lady Gaga." Pyro laughs at this, although Magneto doesn't have any idea who she is talking about. "Look. The fact is that Lady Gaga is a genius. She has her eye on where the ball is going. I mean, did you guys see the Paparazzi video? It's one of the best deconstructions of socially constructed gender roles we've ever seen in pop culture. And she's one of the only people in the media to actually talk about the impact popular media has on women and our standards of beauty." She talks at length for a few minutes about Lady Gaga, who he has gathered is some kind of musician, and then she picks up her guitar and starts chanting, eventually breaking into song.

Pyro and Echo both laugh. "Well, that's probably going to be the only post about William Stryker that includes an acoustic cover of Poker Face," she says.

Magneto is intrigued by the video. He didn't really know who she was talking about, but it was passionate and charismatic, and got some laughs from everyone else in the room. Echo was probably right about her claim to be a valuable propagandist.

"Now what?" Gambit asks.

Magneto shrugs. "We wait. We have made our move, and we will see how the world responds once they really start looking into yesterday's events."

"They ain't gonna find anything on Stryker," Gambit says. "He always knew how to cover his tracks."

"Perhaps not. But perhaps he got cocky. We shall have to wait and see." He nods decisively, which the others take as their cue to leave. "I shall see you all in the morning."

After they file out of his office, Magneto spends hours online, trying his best to gauge public reaction to yesterday's Cerebro attack and to Echo's video. He allows himself to feel the slightest bit of hope.

NOTE: Title from "No Surrender" by Bruce Springsteen.


	13. Nobody Told Me

Chapter 13: Nobody Told Me There'd Be Days Like These (Gambit)

Gambit wraps his arm around Nori's shoulder on their way out of Magneto's office. "Good job, _ma mie_. My brave girl."

"Is that what _mie_ means?"

"No, _ma mie_, it means my love."

"Oh. I like it in French."

"'Course you do. The ladies love French."

They take a seat on the living room couch, and she nestles her head into his chest. He breathes in the scent of her hair. While Nori was with Stryker, he had occasionally gone out to bars and flirted, but he'd stayed loyal to her. It was a new sensation for him, but he loved her.

She laughs. "Oh yeah? What else do the ladies like?"

"Based on my experience... fine wine, dancing, and secret societies of mutant liberators."

"Uncanny. Those are basically my top three."

"You ever been with a mutant liberator before?"

"No, but I did date a guy who was way into the Earth Liberation Front."

"And how'd that work out?" 

"Well... he ended up in jail for helping put a bomb in a lab that did genetic engineering. Also he had shitty taste in music, so we broke up."

"So as long as I stay out of jail, we're okay?"

She leans up and kisses him. "Oh, I think I'd probably wait a while for you. Maybe send you a cake with a file in it."

"I could charge that file and do some serious damage."

She frowns. "Hey, how did Stryker keep you in his lab, anyway, if he didn't have that mind control drug? You could just charge anything and fight your way out."

He runs a hand up and down her back absently. "He didn't have that drug, but he had something... somehow it gave me this blinding pain any time I used my power." He shakes his head. "For someone who hates mutants so much, he sure knows a lot about how we work."

"I'll say."

"So, how'd you escape?"

"One day I realized that I wanted to be out of there so bad I'd suffer any amount of pain. I... I'm still not sure how I did it, honestly." He shivers, and she squeezes his knee.

"I'm sorry, love. I was just curious."

"_Pas de quoi_, _cherie_."

"That's not French for 'I hate you forever,' is it?"

He laughs. "It means, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Did you grow up speaking French? With your family?"

He hesitates. "Guess you could say that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I really grew up speaking Creole. Dirty street French."

"My parents only spoke Japanese with us at home, and then when we went to pre-school we picked up English. It's amazing what children's minds can do."

"Did your parents love you, _cherie_?"

"Yes," she says. "Remy...how did you grow up?"

He tenses. He doesn't want to lie, but he doesn't want sweet Nori to think of him differently. He's spending too long thinking about this, and she says, wistfully, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I was just wondering where you came from."

"Truth is, guess I don't really know where I came from, _cher_. My mama abandoned me... thought I was the devil. On account of my eyes. So I grew up with the Thieves Guild in New Orleans."

She looks up at him, and her sad brown eyes meet his red ones. "I can't believe a mother would give up a boy like you." She sounds angry, not sad.

He laughs. "_Cherie_, I don't think you've looked in an orphanage lately. It's full of boys like me, or stranger."

"I guess you're right. It's so fucking stupid. Those families don't know what they're missing. You're so special, Remy. I don't know what I would have done this last year without you."

"You'd've been fine. You're tough."

"I'm tough by regular world standards, maybe. Not by covert ops standards."

"You're doing just fine, _cherie_." For a few moments, they rest in companionable silence.

"_Cher_?"

"Yes?"

"Would you perhaps do me the honor of singing a song for me?"

She beams. "Of course. What would you like to hear?"

"Something to celebrate."

She thinks about it. She takes music as seriously as he takes card-playing. He likes that they have both made livings out of something frivolous.

She starts singing a familiar song. She's somehow solemn and joyful at the same time.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly_

_All your life_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

Pyro slinks into the living room halfway throught the song. Both men applaud when she finishes.

"Beautiful, _cherie_."

She smiles. "Thank you, boys. Pyro, do you have a request?"

"Oh, um... I don't know. Anything's fine."

She studies his face carefully, and she opens her mouth to sing much more playfully than she had for the Beatles song.

_But truth be told, I miss you_

_And truth be told, I'm lying_

_When you see my face_

_Hope it gives you hell_

_Hope it gives you hell_

When she's finished, Pyro grins. "I never heard it sung quite like that before."

"Is that a good thing?" Nori teases.

"Yeah," Pyro says.

"Good. Next time please make your compliments explicit." Pyro looks surprised. "I'm just kidding, dude," she adds. "But thank you. So, Pyro, what kind of music do you like?"

"Um, mostly rap. And, like, Panic! At the Disco. And Three Days Grace."

"Yeah? What do you think about Eminem?"

"He's cool, I guess. I mean, I like his beats. But he's said some stupid shit about mutants."

Nori nods. "I find that I have an increasingly problematic relationship with Eminem. He is admittedly a great rapper, yet I find his misogynistic, homophobic, and anti-mutant statements to be so repellent. But then, sometimes it seems like he only does it for shock value—and it always works. So is he to blame? Or is the media to blame for playing into his gimmick? And is he parodying the violent rap culture or buying into it? And like does it ultimately matter what his intent is? You know?"

Gambit hides a grin behind his hand and Pyro looks confused. "Uh, Echo, do you always talk like that?"

She laughs. "I spend a lot of time thinking about music, I guess. Or overthinking about music, some would say. What do you think about female rappers, like M. I. A. and Nicki Minaj?"

"M. I. A. is awesome. I've heard of Nicki Minaj, but I don't really know her stuff."

"Oh my God, Nicki Minaj is amazing. Her song 'Baddest Bitch' is ridiculous." Improbably, Nori raps a verse:

_I only fucks with bad bitches, no homo._

_Flow sicker than LL,_

_Chinese and them things go pow-pow,_

_Word to me, all them girls better bow down,_

_Nicki Minaj, I'm the talk of the town now._

"I mean, who says that, right? I love her," she concludes. "You have to hear the original."

"You can rap?" Pyro asks, incredulously.

"I mean... not really. I like to try. I have a pretty good sense of rhythm since I've studied music so much."

"Cool."

"Yeah," she says. "What are you good at, Pyro?"

He flicks his lighter and makes a flower out of flame.

"That's pretty rad," she says. "What about besides your power, though? What do you like to do?"

He looks suspicious. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just trying to get to know you, Pyro." Gambit understands Pyro's confusion. Nori seems to care about people unconditionally, which is rare. None of the mutants in the Brotherhood are used to that. He's pretty sure Nori is the only member of the Brotherhood who grew up with an intact family, and it's left its mark on her.

She sees that he still looks suspicious. "Look, man, the only person I really have to hang out with around here is this guy," she says, gesturing back at Gambit with a jerk of her head. "So I have a lot of motivation to make friends with new people," she says, with a grin.

"Oof, _cherie_, I am wounded."

"See what I mean, Pyro? I'd like a friend who's not quite so melodramatic."

"Yeah. All right," Pyro replies. "I mean, you don't have to be nice to me just 'cause I'm new. Or whatever."

"Easy, _mon ami_. She's got to be nice to you because she is a nice person," Gambit says.

She nods solemnly. "Certifiably nice."

"Yeah? How's that working out for you?" Pyro asks.

She shrugs. "I have a lot of Facebook friends. How's being wicked touchy working out for you?"

"Facebook is stupid," he says, and they both laugh. Gambit doesn't know what Facebook is, but he decides to ask Nori when they're alone.

"Well, anyway. I'm glad you're here, Pyro. It'll be good to have someone else around who knows about music. Plus the fire thing is pretty cool."

"Uh, thanks."

She grins. "Anyway, Pyro, it was nice talking to you. I mean it. I'll see you in the morning," she says, rising off the couch.

"Yes. _Bonne nuit,_" Gambit says.

"Night," Pyro says.

Gambit follows Nori up the stairs to their bedroom. They haven't actually spoken about sharing this room, but it's the one they shared last night when Nori was still out of it. They brush their teeth and change for bed. Nori wears a pair of shorts patterned with hearts and a tank top. Normally, he'd be excited to see her in so little clothing, but it only exaggerates how thin and bruised she is.

They climb into bed, and she rolls over and kisses him softly.

"Remy..." she says.

"Yes, _cher_?"

"I missed you."

He laughs. "I missed you too. We've covered this already, _oui?_"

"I thought it stood to be repeated."

He strokes her hair. "You might have a point there."

"Remy... I... I don't know if I can have sex with you. Tonight, I mean. Or maybe for a little while."

"_Ma mie_, after what you went through, I would not expect you to. I am just happy to have you back."

She rests her head on his chest. "Look, Remy, I... when I was in college, I was raped. By a guy who I thought was, um, a friend of mine. But clearly he wasn't. And, um, it was really hard for me afterward. And the guy I was dating, he, said he understood. But... instead, he cheated on me. With a clarinet player!" She adds, indignantly.

He kisses the top of her head and wraps his arms around her, then freezes. "Is this okay?"

"Yes. This is good. So, anyway, what I'm trying to say, is thank you. For going slow with me. But please be honest with me."

"If it reassures you, I can point out that I do not know any clarinet players."

She laughs. "Love you." She kisses him again, a little bit more passionately. Then she pulls away and sighs. "Goddamn Stryker."

He strokes her hair.

Gambit is still feeling giddy about being reunited with Nori, but he's also feeling furious at what has happened to her. And, he admits to himself, he's a little disappointed that they won't be having sex tonight. And he's a little afraid of how long it might take her to recover. But he vows not to be the one to hurt her any further. He has a few things to atone for in his life, and maybe he can start by helping Nori rebuild herself.

They fall asleep, curled together like spoons. Several hours later, Gambit wakes up and realizes the bed is empty. He sits up, startled, and flicks on a bedside lamp. He sees her sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Nori?" he calls. "You all right?"

She looks eerily pale in the dim light. "Hey, Remy. Couldn't sleep."

"You know, there's plenty of room on the bed."

She sighs. "I didn't want to wake you."

"_Cherie_, come here," he says, softly. She stands up gracefully and comes to rest against him. "Nori, I ain't never met a girl like you. I am happy for each moment I spend with you. Never think it would be a bother to wake me up. I have had nightmares too, you understand me?"

"I, I don't even remember what I dreamed. I just woke up and felt so panicked. I was trying to meditate."

"You're safe," he whispers. "You're safe now."

NOTES: Title is from "Nobody Told Me" by John Lennon. Songs quoted are: "Blackbird" by the Beatles (written by Lennon & McCartney), "Gives you Hell" by the All-American Rejects (written by Nick Wheeler & Tyson Ritter, and Baddest Bitch by Nicki Minaj.


	14. Stop, Children, What's that Sound

Chapter 14: Stop, Children, What's that Sound (Nori)

She wakes up with a start and glances at the wall clock. It's not quite 5am. _Close enough_, she thinks. Her pulse is racing and she knows she won't be able to fall asleep again. She carefully extracts herself from the bed and gets dressed. She pads downstairs and walks out onto the back porch. Between the sleepy haze around her mind and the gray morning light she doesn't realize that Magneto is already standing there until she's awkwardly close to him.

"Oh! Good morning," she says, walking the last few feet to the railing.

"Hello, Echo," he says. "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep. What about you?"

He nods. They look out at the water in silence. After a while, she says, "Hey. I'm going to go make breakfast."

"Thank you, Echo."

She hums to herself as she boils water for oatmeal and tea. Remy comes down the stairs into the hallway. "Hey, _cher_, how long you been down here?"

"Morning, Remy. I just got up a little early, is all." He puts an arm around her.

She turns into him and pulls his face down to kiss him. "I'm okay. How did you sleep?"

"Better than you, I suppose."

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure eight hours of sleep is unnecessary. Three, maybe four, that's all you need."

He looks at her sadly. "Tonight will be better."

"I hope so," she says. "Help me set the table."

Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro file into the kitchen around 6:30. While they eat, Magneto reports that someone has leaked a few of Stryker's files to the press. Nothing about Cerebro, but enough to confirm that Stryker himself exists and has been doing some kind of mutant experimentation. It's good news for their cause.

Nori bites her lip. She's glad her video is working, but what she really wants to know is what her old friends thought of it. She'll have to see if she can look online later.

After breakfast, Magneto takes Gambit and Pyro downstairs for training. Mystique takes Nori into Magneto's office for more computer training.

Nori still doesn't know very much about Mystique. She doesn't talk much, and she's more than a little intimidating. But Nori would like to befriend the only other woman in the Brotherhood. Unfortunately, Nori doesn't have the focus required to follow Mystique's lesson, and she keeps making stupid mistakes.

"Enough," Mystique says. "This is clearly a waste of both of our time."

"Sorry," Nori whispers.

Mystique shrugs. "You have the aptitude. You just need a little time to get your focus back."

"Mystique?"

"Yes?"

"How did you learn all this stuff?"

"I made a point to learn things that would help the Brotherhood. I taught myself from books and web sites."

"What did you do before this?"

"I did what I needed to do to survive."

Nori pushes her hair behind her ears. "I guess I never realized how much I took for granted. I knew mutants were discriminated against, but all the ones I knew, I mean..."

"They could pass for human."

"I guess so." She sighs. "Thanks for teaching me shit, Mystique."

Mystique gives a small laugh. "Thanks for joining the Brotherhood, Echo."

"I didn't really have a choice."

"You always have a choice." Mystique hands her _Python for Dummies_ and says, "Read this at your own pace."

She elegantly walks out of the room. Nori trails behind and tries to read on the living room couch.

Gambit and Pyro, both sweaty, come up from the basement. She looks Gambit up and down appreciatively and he grins.

"Reading about snakes,_ cherie?"_

"It's a computer programming language," she says with a moue. "Apparently they named it after Monty Python's Flying Circus."

He frowns at the book. "You sure you wouldn't rather come downstairs and get fireballs thrown at you?"

"After a few more chapters that might sound appealing." She closes the book with a sigh. "I'm going to go make lunch. Do you guys have any requests?"

"Burgers would be nice," Pyro says.

She smiles. "By burgers, you mean black bean burgers, right?"

"Uh... whatever."

"See you boys later," she says. Remy kisses her forehead. His sweaty hair brushes her face, but she doesn't mind.

She leaves her Python book on an end table and starts mashing beans. Her mind wanders a bit as she cooks and she suddenly finds herself weeping. _Goddammit_, she thinks. She keeps cooking, occasionally wiping her face with her sleeves.

Pyro enters the kitchen and freezes. "Uh, are you okay?"

She sniffles. "Not really."

"Do you want to, uh, talk about it, or whatever?" His discomfort is palpable.

"Oh, not really. I just feel so crazy."

"I don't think you're crazy."

She pours some oil into a pan and heats it. "Thanks, sweetie." She winces. _Seventeen-year-old boys probably hate being called sweetie, Nori._ Oh well. Hopefully she can get a pass for being a crazy girl.

"I thought your video was good. A crazy girl wouldn't have made it."

She takes a deep breath. She's got her tears under control. "Van Gogh made some great paintings and he was definitely crazy."

Pyro doesn't respond.

"Pyro, would you mind setting the table?"

"Uh, sure," he says. He opens a cabinet and takes out a stack of five plates. The top one slides off and hits the ground.

Nori gasps in shock.

"Sorry!" Pyro says. "Just a plate."

"I know, I... it's okay," she says. "It's okay." She takes a few deep breaths. _Goddammit_.

He approaches her and pats her shoulder. She laughs and hugs him. He flinches slightly, then relaxes. She notes the flinch and frowns to herself. She decides to investigate Pyro's family life later. She assumes he has a sad story like everyone else in the Brotherhood.

"I'll go get the dustpan," she offers. Gambit enters the kitchen and finds her sweeping up plate shards while Pyro nervously sets the table.

"You okay, _cher?_" he asks.

"Fine."

"Ah... forgive me, _cherie_, but you don't look fine."

"Pyro dropped a plate and it short-circuited my brain," she admits.

"Easy, _cher_. You have to give yourself some time to recover."

"Yeah," she says softly.

She spends a few more days on edge, crying and freaking out at the slightest provocation. One night, Gambit slips out and returns with some stolen Xanax. "Pyro looked it up for me on the Internet," he says. "Don't take them if you don't want to, but... we just wanted to help."

"Thanks, love."

He hands her a printout. "It says you can only take them for a few months before you get addicted, you understand?"

"Trust me, I know. But I think if I could just get a good night's sleep..." She opens the foil packet and takes a pill. "Love you," she says.

That night she sleeps soundly and Remy has to shake her awake in the morning.

"Hey, _cherie_, how'd you sleep?"

"Like a baby. A tired baby." She smiles up at him. Then she stands and immediately has to sit down again. "Whoa."

"You all right?"

"Just got really dizzy all of a sudden. Let me try again, more slowly."

She takes a deep breath and stands. She manages to get dressed without incident, though she wobbles once on the way down the stairs. Remy takes her elbow the rest of the way to the kitchen.

She scrambles some eggs and feels calm and blank. She doesn't even jump when Magneto taps her on the shoulder from behind.

"Echo, are you all right?"

She smiles. "Yes, thank you."

He frowns. "Oh... I asked because I can't sense your power."

"Oh. Oh." She focuses on her power and realizes she can't find Magneto, or anyone. "Hmm," she says. "Gambit got me some Xanax. I guess it's probably interfering with my abilities."

"Well," he says, and pauses. "Do you really think medication is the answer?"

"I don't know..." she says, dreamily.

"Magneto, she hasn't gotten more than a few hours sleep a night since we got back. This is just a stepping stone, for a little while," Gambit says. "And even if she did have her power, you know she would not be in any shape to go on a mission right now."

"I suppose you're right," Magneto says.

She smiles and carries the serving dish to the table. She listens as Remy and Pyro chat about TV shows. She drifts into the living room and opens her new laptop. At first she tries a Python tutorial but can't focus. She turns on her mobile network card and Googles post traumatic stress. She's pleased to learn that she might not have it, since it's still soon after her ordeal. If she gets back to normal soon, it might just be a normal response to trauma. And she realizes that Magneto is showing a lot of symptoms of trauma as well, but while she's been hypervigilant and overly sensitive, he seems to be emotionally numb and prone to angry outburts. He'd probably benefit from some Xanax too, but she can't imagine suggesting it. Somehow it makes her feel better just to read about it. Maybe she isn't crazy. She's just responding normally to trauma.

In the afternoon, she gradually senses mutant powers in the basement. The medication must be wearing off. She thinks about taking another pill, but instead she decides to focus on Remy. She rarely uses her power with him, since he only uses his power in short bursts. Carefully, she focuses on him. She thinks about being calm and happy and in love. She wants to send him a little boost.

Suddenly, the floor shakes. _Oops_, she thinks, and drops her focus. Moments later, Magneto stalks into the living room. "Echo, what are you playing at?"

She looks down, then meets his gaze. "Sorry... I just felt my power come back, I guess when the medicine started wearing off, and I just... wanted to use it."

"You could have killed all of us," he snaps.

"What?"

"Gambit didn't realize how much stronger his power had gotten, and he completely demolished one of the support walls of the basement. I had to hold up the top half of the house with my power and reconstruct the wall in a split second."

"Oh. Oh, wow. God, I am so sorry. Is everyone okay?"

His face softens slightly. "We are all fine. Just see to it that from now on you only focus your powers on someone when they are aware you're going to do so. When you're feeling better, you'll join us in the training room... or perhaps outdoors... to get a better idea of your power's limits."

"Yes, sir," she says, contritely. She thinks it might be the first time she's called Magneto "sir," but it felt right. And it seems to appease him. He nods and walks back downstairs.

Later, Gambit drops himself next to her on the couch. "Whew, that sure was something, _cherie_."

She twists her face in contrition. "Sorry, love. I don't know what came over me."

"Hey, it was quite the rush! I just wasn't plannin' on destroyin' our house today." She sets her computer aside and rests her head in his lap.

"You're all right. We're safe," he says.

"Safe," she repeats. She smiles.

Pyro comes in. "Hey, do you guys mind if I watch a movie?"

"Go ahead, _mon ami_," Gambit says.

"When did we get movies?" Nori asks.

"I went into town with Mystique and got some this morning," he says.

"Oh, cool. Did you get anything good?"

"I got _Quantum of Solace, The Matrix, Saw, American Pie_, and _Anchorman_."

"No to _Saw,_ please."

Pyro puts in _The Matrix_. She tries to watch it for a while, then kisses Remy on the forehead and goes to cook dinner. He looks at her quizzically, and she shrugs and smiles. She just isn't up to it. Magneto comes into the kitchen while she's chopping vegetables.

"Echo, how are you doing?"

"Oh, fine."

He frowns. "Has the medication Gambit got you been working?"

"Well, I've only been taking it for one day. But yeah, it helped me sleep last night."

"And you are having no ill effects?"

"A little bit of dizziness and sleepiness. But nothing major. So far."

He nods. "Take care of yourself, Echo."

"I'm doing my best." She hesitates. "You should take care of yourself too, you know."

He looks surprised. "I'm fine."

She takes his hand. "Look... I know what you went through, Erik. I know we are dealing with it in different ways, but... how are you doing?"

"My dear, I am fine. I have lived through worse."

"I-I know, but that doesn't make you immune to suffering."

"Thank you for your concern. But I am fine."

"Okay. But, um, if you ever want to talk, or anything... um, I'd be happy to listen." She squeezes his hand and lets go. Magneto stares.

"Well, thank you for the offer."

She looks at him sadly. "Echo, I'll feel better when the world is safe for mutants."

"That could take a while, you know."

"Indeed."

A timer goes off and Nori startles, then pulls a casserole dish of macaroni and cheese out of the oven.

The others file into the dining room, drawn by the scent of melted cheese. Nori likes the feeling of having a family dinner, and she smiles as everyone fills their plates. Maybe she can feel safe again soon.

NOTES: Title is from "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield. Information about trauma and PTSD is from some personal experience and some Googling.


	15. Tangled Up in Blue

Chapter 15: Tangled Up in Blue (Magneto)

Throughout dinner, he thinks about what Nori said to him. The only other member of the Brotherhood who would dare talk to him about his feelings was Mystique, and she is not a woman who is particularly in touch with her emotions. But then, Nori is extremely over-emotional. Sometimes she reminds him of Charles, though he believes she may have recently changed her stance on pacifism. And she's certainly nowhere near as smug as a telepath.

But she was wrong about him. He is fine. Fine. He is free, and Stryker is dead, and he is surrounded by metal. After dinner, he returns to his study. He can hear and feel Echo singing for Pyro and Gambit.

He is concerned about her power. It seems to cut off entirely when she is medicated, but he thinks that it must be stronger than usual when the effects wear off. Even now, he knows she isn't focusing on him but he feels her effects much more strongly than he used to. He almost wishes that he could read Stryker's updated file on her. As cruel as Stryker was, he was an excellent researcher. He knows that the base was destroyed but wonders if there were remote backups. He decides to ask Mystique if she can investigate.

He wonders if there is some connection between Echo's power and her mood. Perhaps she needs to release it regularly to regulate her mood. She had surely been using her power regularly, if under duress, with Styker. Perhaps she needs to use it more often. But if she truly requires the anti-anxiety medication to make it through the next few weeks, how can she use her power? He considers. He'll give her a few weeks to recover, and then he'll start putting her in training sessions. Pyro and Gambit can take turns getting boosts from her power and defending her from the other. It will be a good exercise. Now, though, he fears putting her in the training gym will just set off a panic attack, since she can't even handle someone walking behind her in the kitchen.

He is satisfied with this plan and sets about monitoring news sites until Mystique comes in to distract him. Lovely Mystique. He had certainly missed her while he was away. For a while, he almost forgets about humanity.

In the morning, Gambit comes to him afer breakfast.

"Good morning, Gambit."

"Morning, Magneto. I need to talk to you about something," he drawls.

"By all means," he says, gesturing for Gambit to take a seat.

Gambit meets his eyes. Magneto knows that Gambit is loyal to him, but not especially afraid of him.

"It's about Echo. I think that she needs a little time to recover."

"Of course."

"I mean, I would like to take her away from here. Some place quiet for a week or two. So she can rest."

He considers. He's fairly confident that if he tells Gambit "no," Gambit will obey, but he will grow resentful. And it certainly isn't as if Echo is being terribly productive. Besides, her bruises have healed enough now that she shouldn't draw much attention. Especially if she gets some sunglasses.

"Do you think she'll be safe?"

"I can protect her."

"Yes, I suppose you can. Very well, Gambit. Mystique will get you some money and a disposable cell phone. Where do you propose to go?"

"Not far. Just somewhere on the coast, quiet. Warm."

"See that you don't call too much attention to yourselves."

"Of course not. Thank you, Magneto."

He nods, and Gambit stands to leave. "I was thinking of getting everything ready today and leaving tomorrow?"

"That will be fine, Gambit."

Later that morning, Mystique slinks into his office with the morning's newspaper. She taps at an article. A young mutant girl in Wyoming has been killed by a lynch mob. Apparently farmers blamed her for their lackluster crop growth.

Magneto sighs. "Perhaps we'll take young Pyro on his first Brotherhood mission this week."

She nods. "Gambit told me he and Echo were leaving tomorrow."

"Yes. He suggested she might recover faster somewhere quiet."

"Probably. And it isn't as if she's being terribly productive here."

He smiles. "No."

"I think she's giving you nightmares."

"What?"

"I know you haven't been sleeping, Erik. And I know about your empathic connection. So I think it would be best for both of you if she goes away until she can reclaim her senses."

"Interesting," he says.

"I think she will be a good addition here, though. Once she settles down. Maybe I won't have to spend so much time behind a computer."

"I agree. She is a little bit... fragile... but when she has the proper motivation she will certainly be useful."

"And how has Pyro's training been going?"

"Excellently. He is quite powerful. And quite angry. He will certainly be an asset once he gains a little more control."

Her lips curve up. "That's my impression as well. Do you think any more of Xavier's students could be turned?"

"It's possible. Perhaps you can pay another visit to that fine institution soon." They both laugh.

"I need to return to Washington soon, you know," she says. "Kelly took two weeks vacation right before our attack on Alkali Lake."

He sighs."Very clever, my dear. Perhaps we can work on finding a suitable base for us somewhere closer to Washington."

"That would be convenient," she says.

He wishes she didn't have to leave, but there's no point in saying so since they both know that she does.

"Ah, Mystique. What will we do without you?"

"Well, I imagine you'll be sleeping alone."

He grimaces.

"But I'll be sleeping with Laurel Kelly, which I think is the worse end of the bargain."

"I suppose you're right."

"Perhaps we should make the most of our time here," she purrs.

"I do like the way you think, Mystique." She straddles him in his desk chair. She's as aggressive here as she is in battle. They make a half-hearted attempt to get upstairs but end up on the couch. He uses his powers to bolt the door. He will certainly miss her. Her beauty, her cleverness, her loyalty, and her astounding sex drive.

They compose themselves—well, he composes himself—and go upstairs.

NOTES: Title from "Tangled Up in Blue" by Bob Dylan.


	16. Can't You Just See the Sunshine?

Chapter 16: Can't You Just See the Sunshine? (Gambit)

Gambit is excited to get Nori out of the house, and further excited to return to his homeland. Well, almost. He's sure that taking her to New Orleans would be a bad idea, but their home in northwestern Florida is only a few hours from Louisiana. They'll drive west on Highway 10, past his home town, past the oil spill, and find somewhere quiet near Holly Beach. It should be far enough from anyone who might know him, and relatively free of tourists. He gets supplies from Mystique and secretly packs a bag for Nori, including a tiny bikini that Mystique picked out for her. He thanks his lucky stars that he's on Mystique's good side. He puts their bags in the car and leaves out a black dress suit and sunglasses for Nori, and calls her upstairs.

"Here, _cher_, put these on."

She lifts her eyebrows. "You have some kind of office fetish?"

He grins. "Nah. We're going on a trip. You'll look more professional this way."

Her eyes widen. "Where are we going? And who's we?"

"Just you and me, _cherie_. Thought maybe you could use a vacation."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. Someplace nice. Quiet."

She hugs him. "Okay, one more question."

"Let me hear it."

"Well... are you really going to wear that shirt?" He's wearing a shiny purple satin shirt.

He frowns. "What is wrong with this shirt, _cherie_?"

She quirks her mouth. "Nothing, baby. It's just not quite as low profile as my outfit, is all."

"Perhaps you are right," he concedes sadly.

"Maybe you can wear it when we get there."

"Perhaps," he says, unbuttoning his shirt. She smirks and pulls off her own T-shirt. Her bruises have mainly faded to a light yellow.

She stands before him in a knee-length black skirt, light pink button-down shirt, and black blazer. Mystique had picked out three-inch black heels for her, adding a not-insignificant amount of height. "I feel like a spy!" she says, excitedly. "I should have hose, though."

"What?"

"Pantyhose. Any lady who wears this outfit wouldn't wear bare legs. We can get some at a gas station or something."

"You look just fine to me," he says appreciatively. She picks his black fedora off the bed and puts it on, rakishly. It slides almost down to her eyes, and she strikes a tough-looking face.

He stares. She's almost unbelievably sexy. She giggles.

"I think this hat would fit you better," she says, and places it on his head. "Wow. That is a damn sexy hat." She frowns. "Take it off. I don't want other girls looking at you."

He laughs. "Don't matter how many girls look at me, _cherie_, I only have eyes for you."

"Oof. So charming."

He kisses her. "It's true."

She ducks her head and smiles.

"Come on, pretty girl, let's hit the road."

"Wait, let me pack."

"No need, _cher_, I already have a bag for you in the car."

"Wow."

"Also, this." He hands her a small black leather purse.

"You are amazing." She twists her long black hair back into a tight bun and they walk downstairs, her heels clicking all the way. He understands why she doesn't wear high heels all the time—they can't be comfortable—but damn if she doesn't look great in them. She saunters into the living room where Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro are all studying some diagrams.

"Goodbye, _mes amis_," Gambit says. "We'll be back soon, I promise."

"Bye," Nori says, excitedly.

"Goodbye. Be careful, you two," Magneto says. Mystique nods. Pyro waves and says "Bye."

"We'll bring you a souvenir, Pyro. Maybe a lighter," Nori says. Pyro grins at that.

They walk out to their recently-acquired Honda four-door. Gambit would have prefers something flashier, but, of course, they are meant to be keeping a low profile.

"I call shotgun," Nori says.

He laughs. "All yours, _cherie_."

They drive for hours and Nori flicks through the radio stations obsessively, trying to find the best songs. "You know, most people, they just pick one station and stick with it," he says, amusedly.

"Sorry, is this annoying?"

"Not at all. Just different." When she finds a songs she likes, she sings along.

In Mississippi, he asks, "You want to stop for something to eat?"

She glances at him, wide-eyed. "I, um..."

"Hey, _cher_, you're okay. Styker's dead."

"But, um, is it safe? I mean..."

"Nobody's going to recognize us as long as we don't call attention to ourselves."

"Okay," she says, with a small voice.

"It will be good for you to get out in the world, a little bit, I think."

"Okay," she says, a bit louder.

He takes the exit for Ocean Springs, which sounds nicer than it is. They stop at a Subway and Nori takes deep breaths in the parking lot.

"You know," she says. "I used to tour the country and talk to new people almost every night. But now... I mean, I've been talking to the same six people for the last 9 months."

He takes her hand. "I'll be with you the whole time. And I don't think the workers at Subway are allowed to carry weapons."

"Sandwich Artists." 

"What?"

"The people who work at Subway are called Sandwich Artists."

"You used to work there, or something?"

"No, it's just something... my friends and I used to talk about it a lot. Some of them thought that it was demeaning to quote-unquote real artists. But I like the idea that you can be an artist in whatever you do. I kind of think every job should call its masters 'artists.' Like mechanical artist. Or customer service artists."

"Don't forget con artists," he interjects.

She laughs. "Okay. Let's get some sandwiches." She takes his hand and they walk into the restaurant. She freezes upon seeing all the people in the half-full restaurant. He lets go of her hand and wraps his arm around her shoulders, gently propelling her forward. By the time they make it up to the counter she has relaxed a little, and manages to politely order a veggie sandwich. He gets a spicy steak sandwich and leads her over to a corner booth. He sits with his back to the wall and she sits facing him, and the wall.

"I can see the whole place from here, _cher_," he says softly. "If anyone tries anything, I'll see it." He's also a little afraid that if any other restaurant patrons see how spooked Nori is, they might call the police. Probably not, since people usually prefer to mind their own business in these situations.

She nods and unwraps her sandwich.

He smiles. "You're doin' good, _cher_. Nobody's going to hurt you."

She takes a few deep breath and then bites into her sandwich. "I don't think that girl went to art school," she says.

He laughs. "Everyone's a critic, _non?_"

Suddenly, she looks up into his eyes. She gestures toward her own eyes. "Did you..."

He cuts her off. "Oh, I got contacts."

"Huh. I didn't notice before."

"You were wearing sunglasses."

"Hmm."

"You think it is a good look?" He put in brown contact lenses to cover his red eyes.

She shrugs. "Well, your old look was so unique."

He chatters for a while about a news story he'd heard about Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding. She heard the same story in the car, but mainly he just wants to give her something to focus on to keep from getting overwhelmed.

"Do you remember where you were when Princess Diana died?" she asks.

He thinks about it. "Not really. When was that? '97?"

"Think so. I was in college."

"I wasn't reading a lot of news those days."

"Ah. I was just curious. I remember they said it would be like a day we'd remember forever, like how our parents' generation would remember JFK getting killed. But I didn't feel that connceted to Di, you know? I mean it was sad that she died, of course." She shrugs.

"Well, _cher,_ shall we hit the road?"

"Yeah."

When they get back to the car, he gives her a quick kiss and opens her door for her. She buckles her seatbelt and as they pull out of the parking lot, she starts quietly crying.

"_Cher_? What's wrong?"

She sniffs. "Nothing. Sorry. It's just so frustrating. I can't even get a fucking sandwich without freaking out."

"Hey now, _cher_, that place was kind of scary."

She takes a deep breath, and he continues. "_Ma mie_. Give yourself more time, _oui_?"

She sighs. "Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry."

"Never apologize, _cherie_. Not for this, anyway."

"Okay," she says. "Then... thank you."

"You are quite welcome."

He hands her a Subway napkin and she wipes her face. She composes herself and goes back to her relentless pursuit of the best radio station.

They drive for another hour and cross into Louisiana. "Home, sweet, home," he says.

She smiles. "Are we there yet?"

"Not quite."

They stop for gas and she gets a giant cup of iced tea. She takes one sip and says, "Fuck."

"What?"

"I forgot we were in the South. I think there is a pound of sugar in this."

He steals a sip. "Mmm." 

"It's all yours, if you want it."

He takes it from her. They arrive at their destination just before sunset. He stops at a small rental office to pick up their keys, and then they drive a few more miles to a small beach cabin. It isn't fancy, and has probably been rebuilt several times from flooding and hurricanes. But it's the only building within sight, and Nori smiles.

"It's beautiful."

"They call it the Cajun Riviera."

They get out of the car and she hugs him tightly.

"Let's watch the sun set and then we will unpack the car."

He unlocks their cabin. It has a small living room with a couch, coffee table, and bookshelf full of Harlequin romances and old board games. There's a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and a deck off the back with a porch swing facing the water.

She takes off her suit jacket and they sit on the swing and gently rock back and forth as they watch the sun dip below the horizon.

She sighs. "Beautiful."

Then she stands up and says, coyly, "Let's go swimming."

"I packed you a swimsuit," he says, but she's already unbuttoning her blouse.

"Race you to the water," she says, peeling off her underwear, and naked, she takes off running toward the water.

Remy laughs and quickly undresses. She has a head start, but his legs are longer. He comes up behind her and almost wraps his arms around her, but instead he slows down slightly. He splashes into the water after her and lets her set the pace. She wades out deeper and starts treading water. He comes up next to her and she wraps her arms around his neck.

"The water's so warm," she says.

She peels away from him and dives down. She surfaces several feet away and floats on her back, looking up at the sky.

He smiles. He'd had a hunch that there weren't too many problems the Louisiana Gulf shores couldn't cure.

He tries to make vegetarian versions of Cajun cuisine and Nori starts to gain weight back. They pass an extremely pleasant few days swimming, relaxing, and making cautious attempts at physical intimacy. She's theoretically interested in sex, but he doesn't want to hurt her. But he's slow and gentle, and they work their way up to oral sex. Afterward she lays her head on his chest and sighs.

"You're pretty good at that," she murmurs.

"You're not bad yourself, _cherie_." They fall asleep, sweaty and content.

The following evening, they're playing cards in the living room when they both hear a loud noise. Nori jumps and looks to him to reassurance.

"Sounds like a motorcycle," he says hesitantly. "_Cher_, maybe you should go wait in the bedroom and I'll see what it is."

She hesitates. "Go," he says. "I'll be just fine."

She slips away and shuts the bedroom door, just as he hears a knock on their front door.

"Hello? LeBeau, I know you're in there."

He scoops up a handful of cards just to be ready. "Well then, you have me at a disadvantage, for I do not know who is out there," he calls back.

"It's Logan."

That was maybe the last person he'd expected to be on his front porch right now. He palms the cards and opens the door cautiously.

Logan holds his hands up, palm out. "I don't wanna fight, Gambit. Just wanna talk."

"All right. Have a seat." He gestures at the sofa.

Logan sniffs. "I know you're not alone here. You might as well have your friend come out."

Gambit considers, briefly. He remembers Logan as being an honorable man, though it has been many years. He's sure Nori is frightened in the bedroom, and she'd be reassured to know that it's just one man, who seems relatively friendly. He nods. "_Cherie_, you can come out."

Hesitantly, she reappears in the living room. She's barefoot and wearing short denim shorts and a black tank top, and Logan looks at her skeptically.

Remy hesitates. "Echo, this is my... old friend Logan, Logan, this is Echo."

"Hello," she says shyly. She offers a hand to Logan, who takes it and nods.

"Charmed," he says, brusquely. She flinches almost imperceptibly and goes to stand next to Remy.

"Well, _mon ami, _you want to talk, let's talk. May I offer you a beer?"

Logan nods, and Remy darts into the kitchen and comes back with three Buds. Logan makes a face, and Remy shrugs. "There is a slightly limited selection in town, I am afraid."

"First, I must ask a question of you," Remy asks. "How did you find us?"

"Xavier found you for me. With Cerebro." In response to wary looks from Remy and Nori, he adds, "We don't want any trouble with you two, I promise. I just wanted to talk. And I didn't want to deal wih Magneto."

Remy nods. "Yes, he would perhaps be difficult for a man of your gifts to face." To Nori, he explains. "Logan here has a skeleton coated in adamantium."

She looks up at Logan. "Were you with Stryker too?"

"I think so. That's what I want to talk to Gambit here about."

Remy nods. "Well, _mon ami_, like I tried to tell you before. I met you in New Orleans 'bout fifteen years ago. I was dealing poker and you and your teleporter friend came in to our fine establishment. You told me you were looking for Victor Creed—a name that was known and unpleasant to me. You told me you wanted to kill him. But I noticed your dogtags and assumed you were working for Stryker, to whom I was not anxious to return." He pauses to take a sip of cheap beer. "But then, in the alley, I saw you fighting Victor. I... got involved. You told me you wanted to kill Creed and Stryker—a plan which admittedly held appeal to me. That, plus your claws at my throat, convinced me to take you Stryker's secret base. On Three Mile Island."

He feels Nori start next to him, but neither she nor Logan interrupt. "We flew there on a little plane of mine. You jumped out and swam to shore. We parted ways for a while. When I found you again... one of the towers of the nuclear plant was collapsing. You asked me to make sure the rest of the prisoners were safe. And they were. They left with Charles Xavier. But then I came back for you and you did not remember me. You did not remember your own name. I told you it was Logan, but I didn't know the rest of your name. And your tag did not say. I tried to get you to come with me but you said you would find your own way. And that was the last I saw of you until Liberty Island."

Logan grunts. "Huh. Quite a story."

"I swear to you that it is true."

"I got a question."

Remy inclines his head forward, and Logan asks, "If you hate Victor Creed so much, how could you fight side by side with a guy like that?"

Remy hesitates. "He don't remember any of this, either. He's... I do not know what has happened to him. He used to be... he used to look more like you. More like a human. I suspect Stryker did something further to him since Three Mile Island. Changed him."

Logan nods. "Well, thank you, Gambit."

"May I invite you to stay for dinner? You could stay with us a spell, if you'd like."

Logan meets Remy's gaze for a few seconds. "Yes, all right. Thank you."

"I'll cook," Nori volunteers.

"_Merci_," Remy says. He follows her into the kitchen and brings two more beers back into the living room.

He isn't sure what he should say to Logan. He doesn't really view him as an enemy, but he doesn't know what Logan wants. But the Logan he remembers was a good man.

"So. You guys still fighting with Magneto?"

"_Oui_. You are still with Xavier?"

"Yeah."

Remy shrugs. "I think we are really hoping for the same thing."

"But you don't mind killing a few humans to get it."

"I always mind killing. But some times I think maybe it saves more lives than it costs."

Logan takes a deep swig of beer, philosophically. "Well. Here's to William Stryker's death."

"Cheers, brother."

"So. Your girl's the one who helped Magneto power his machine?"

Remy nods.

"Did she know it was going to kill all those people?"

"'Course not."

Nori calls from the kitchen, "You guys know I can hear you, right?"

"_Oui, cherie_," Remy says, although he hadn't been aware she was listening.

"I did it because Magneto told me he'd kidnap some other girl if I didn't. Some girl who could absorb other mutants' powers."

Logan looks up sharply. "Rogue?"

"Huh?"

"Was the girl's name Rogue?"

"No, Marie, I think."

Logan's face registers shock.

"He would have taken Marie?"

Remy shrugs. "He really thought it would help mutant equality. He is not evil."

"Dinner's ready," Nori calls. "I just made pasta. If you want something else, uh, cook it yourself."

Remy laughs, and he and Logan walk the few feet to the kitchen. Nori doesn't seem as nervous any more, at least not until she notices Logan staring at her throughout dinner.

She stares back until he says, "Sorry, Echo. Just... have we met before?"

She shakes her head. "Don't think so. But, uh, you might have seen me in the news lately."

"You made that video about Stryker."

"Yeah."

Logan rubs his forehead. "You had a sister?"

She freezes. "Yes."

"Was your sister... was she with Stryker, too?"

She nods.

"With metal claws?"

Nori bites her lip. "Her name was Yuriko."

Logan takes a deep breath. "Echo, I think I should tell you... I am real sorry, but I think I killed your sister."

Nori sucks her lips."How did she die? I didn't think anything could kill Yuri."

"It was at Alkali Lake. Stryker shut me in a room with her. She was drugged, and... well, she was a hell of a fighter. But, uh, I pushed her into a tank of liquid adamantium."

"Jesus," Nori breathes.

"I'm sorry."

She nods. "I know. She... she wasn't herself. Excuse me," she says, and leaves the table.

Logan sighs. "I didn't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but I just thought she should know."

Remy shrugs. "We were pretty sure she was dead, but we did not know the details. I think she is glad to know the truth. Excuse me, my friend, I am going to go check on her."

"'Course."

He stands up and leaves Logan alone at the table. He looks back. "But please, _mon ami_, do not leave now. We will talk more soon, _oui_?"

Logan nods. "All right."

"There is more beer in the fridge, if you'd like."

He walks out the back door and finds Nori smoking a cigarette and weeping on the porch swing. He sits next to her. "You all right, _ma mie_?"

She takes a deep ragged breath. "Yeah. Remy, would you mind... I think I just want to be alone now. For a little while."

"Of course, _ma cher_. I'll be inside should you need anything."

She smiles. "I know."

He goes inside and pops back out to hand her a box of Kleenex, then goes back to the kitchen to drink with Logan.

NOTES: Title is from "Carolina in my Mind" by James Taylor.


	17. We Can't Return, We Can Only Look Behind

Chapter 17: We Can't Return, We Can Only Look Behind (Nori)

She sits on the swing and cries for a long time, until her face and stomach hurt. She does feel better, and she hates anyone who says that crying doesn't do any good. Sometimes you just need the release.

She'd suspected for a long time that Yuri was dead, even before she'd known that her sister was with Stryker. Even before she'd known who Stryker was. But somehow, knowing that her sister is actually dead completely reopens the wound that had been starting to heal. And knowing that her sister had drowned in molten metal? She shivers. Terrible.

But she is surprised to learn she isn't angry with Logan. He's clearly just another victim of Stryker, one even worse off than herself. Stryker is the one who killed her sister. Logan was just the weapon he used to do it.

She goes inside and washes her face, and finds Remy and Logan drinking and playing cards in the living room. She gets a beer from the kitchen and joins them.

They both look up at her, and neither of them knows what to say.

"Deal me in on your next hand," she says. She sits next to Remy.

"Logan, I want you to know that I forgive you. I know... I know what Stryker turned my sister into."

Logan nods. "Thank you, darlin', I appreciate that. But I'm still sorry she died."

"You and me both," she says. She raises her beer. "To Yuri," she toasts.

"To Yuri," the others echo.

Logan deals, and asks, "So. What was your sister like?"

Nori sips her drink. "She was... super smart. She was a defense attorney. But she just started working for the ACLU a few months before she disappeared. We... we kind of thought that was why, that some wacko who hated the ACLU had killed her and thrown her in a ditch or something."

"Did she study martial arts? Or was that all Stryker's doing?"

She shakes her head. "No. My parents signed us both up for karate lessons as soon as we turned 5. I quit when I was 6, but she kept it up. I think it was a good stress relief for her, especially when she started law school."

"And could she always heal like that?"

"No, that started when she was in high school. At first, my parents thought maybe it was some kind of autoimmune disease. Like in reverse. But some doctor finally told them she was a mutant."

"Then what?"

She shrugs. "Then nothing. I think my parents just saw it as one more piece of evidence that they were raising superior children. That's why it's so surprising to me when parents kick out their mutant kids. My parents always seemed disappointed that I never developed mutant powers."

Logan stares. "You're not a mutant? But you're with Magneto?"

"Oh. Well, it turns out that I am a mutant. But my powers never exactly manifested. They're not very showy."

"Oh. You're the girl who can magnify other mutant powers."

"Right."

Remy asks, "You only had one sister, right?"

"Yeah."

"So your niece is Yuri's daughter?"

She looks at him sharply. _Did Logan really need to know that?_ she thinks. But she just says, "Yes, Yuri had a 9-year-old daughter."

"Jesus," Logan says.

Nori shrugs. "She barely remembers Yuri. She was only 6 when Stryker took her." She takes a deep swig of beer. "We were going to go see the Justin Bieber movie together. Fucking Stryker."

No one has played in some time. "Whose turn is it?" she asks.

"Yours, _cher_, if you still want to play."

"Yeah. Um. I fold." She lays her cards down on the table.

"You want to play a song for us?" Remy asks.

"Sure," she says. She glances at Logan. "If you don't mind."

"I'd love to hear a song, darlin."

She picks her guitar out of the corner and strums a few times. It calms her, and she's glad Remy asked. She's in the mood for some sorrowful Bob Dylan, and she sings:

_Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son ?_

_And where have you been my darling young one ?_

_I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains_

_I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways_

_I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests_

_I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans_

_I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard_

_And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard_

_It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall_

There are tears in her eyes by the time she reaches the final lines,

_And I'll tell and think it and speak it and breathe it_

_And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it_

_Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'_

_But I'll know my songs well before I start singin'_

_And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard_

_It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall_

"You're good," Logan says.

"Thank you."

She keeps playing. She does some more classics, "Thunder Road" and "Amazing Grace" and "Let It Be" and "The Only Living Boy in New York." She plays until it doesn't hurt as much anymore. She plays "Circle Game" for her sister.

_And the seasons they go round and round_

_And the painted ponies go up and down_

_We're captive on the carousel of time_

_We can't return we can only look_

_Behind from where we came_

_And go round and round and round_

In the circle game

Finally, she puts her guitar away and says, softly, "Thanks for listening."

"It was my pleasure, darlin," Logan says. Impulsively, she hugs him.

"I'm glad you found us, Logan," she says. "Goodnight."

"'Night," he says, somewhat startled.

"I'll see you in the morning, right?"

He nods, and she smiles. "Good."

She's changing for bed when Remy comes in.

"Hey _cher_, how are you doing?"

"Doing okay. I... it hurts to know what happened to Yuri, but it also gives me some closure." She sighs and takes a Xanax. "How are you doing, baby? I didn't know that about Stryker and Three Mile Island."

"It was a long time ago."

He curls up around her and holds her.

She wakes up feeling well-rested and sad. Her stomach hurts from anxiety. She pulls on a sundress and starts heating water for tea. Logan is awake in the living room and reading one of the romance novels that had been in the living room.

"Morning, Logan," she says.

"Hey, Echo."

"Good book?" she asks.

"It was either this or _The Shiekh's Virgin_."

"Hmm. Good pick, I guess. You want some tea?"

"All right," he says. "Thank you."

She brings over two mugs.

"You know, darlin'... if you and Remy ever get tired of life with Mags, I'm sure there'd be a place for you with Xavier. He's a good guy."

"Thanks, Logan. I think I'll be staying with the Brotherhood for now, though. They did save me. Twice. And... and I don't always agree with Magneto's decisions, but I agree with his philosophy." She sips her tea. "And I think sometimes I am a good influence on him. Remy says he has a soft spot for me."

"Don't seem like there's much soft about that guy."

She smiles. "I think it's a pretty small spot."

"How'd you get mixed up with the Brotherhood anyway?"

"Mystique and Gambit came and told me that William Stryker was planning to kidnap me. I didn't really know what they were talking about but they were pretty persuasive, so I went with them. But then Stryker took me anyway, after Liberty Island, and then they rescued me."

"Yeah? And you know Magneto tried to kill every human on earth right after that?"

"Well, I wasn't really conscious at the time. But I think he knew that you guys would stop anything from happening."

Logan nods. "Hope you know what you're doing, darlin'."

She laughs. "I don't think I've really known what I was doing since I was about seventeen years old. It'll work out. Or it won't."

"Guess those are pretty much your options, huh."

She smiles. "For now, life with the Brotherhood feels right. But if it doesn't, well, maybe I'll give you a call."

Remy ambles into the living room. "Morning," he says.

"Hey, Cajun," Logan says. Nori turns a big smile on Remy.

"Do you guys want pancakes?" she asks. They both shrug. "Well, I do," she says. She hums to herself as she cooks.

"You're a lucky man, Gambit," she hears Logan say.

"Very true," Remy agrees.

"I like you guys," she calls from the kitchen. "I'm making Mickey Mouse pancakes for both of you."

They join her in the kitchen. "I used to make these for Aiko—my niece—all the time," she says with a sad smile. "Cooking was always one of the few things I could do better than Yuri. Somehow she didn't have the patience for it, even though she could read law briefs or practice _kata_ for hours." She looks around the table. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be a downer."

"It is good," Remy says. "You should remember your sister."

Logan nods, and they finish their pancakes quietly. Remy takes the dishes to the sink. Logan stands and says, "'Guess I'd better move on."

"You don't have to," Nori says.

"Yeah, I do. They need me in New York," he says. She nods and embraces him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"It was very nice to meet you, Logan. Be well."

"You too, darlin'. See you around."

Remy wipes his hands on a dishtowel and proffers one to Logan. "Take care, _mon ami_."

"See ya, Cajun."

Logan starts his motorcycle and rides out of their sight.

"_Cherie_, has anyone ever told you that you are extremely charming?"

"You know, I have heard that. But I'm nowhere near the level of a certain Cajun I know."

He kisses her forehead. "Maybe Magneto will send you to charm school."

She laughs. "Don't know if I'd fit in there." They spend another week at the beach. Remy gets tanned and gorgeous. Nori gets sunburned shoulders, but her ribs don't show any more. She still cries at least once a day, but she feels more in control of herself. One night they go into Lafayette and eat at a Cajun restaurant. She eats a salad and is repulsed by Remy's crawfish, but he's clearly delighted with them so she says nothing. There's a live Zydeco band, and they join the crowd and dance. A few times she feels the crowd pressing against her and takes deep breaths. She looks up into Remy's fake brown eyes and focuses on him.

Then a guy on the dance floor grabs her ass and she flees to the bathroom and cries. A woman with an accent like Remy's knocks on her stall door. "You all right, sugar?"

"I'm okay," she sniffs. "Thank you. It's just been a rough week, you know?"

"Tell me about it," the voice says. Nori's not sure if she actually wants to hear about it, or if that was just for emphasis.

"Man trouble?" the voice asks, and she guesses she did want to hear.

"No. My man's great. It's just, my sister died. Well, she was killed. And... and it's just hard."

The woman clicks her tongue. "I'm sorry, sweetie. Can I get you anything?"

Nori takes a deep breath and opens the door. "No, thank you."

The woman looks to be in her mid-40s and seems motherly. "Come here," she clucks. She hugs Nori.

"Thank you, ma'am," Nori says. She washes her face, and the woman hands her a paper towel.

"Now, go find your man. I'm sure he's missing a pretty girl like you."

"Thank you," Nori says, and offers her biggest smile.

She walks out of the bathroom and finds Remy looking nervous. "_Cher_, are you all right?"

Her new bathroom friend elbows her as she walks past and whispers, "Hang on to that one." Nori grins.

"You know her?" Remy asked, after the woman had walked past.

"Uh, I think we're friends now. She tried to console me while I was crying in the bathroom."

He sighs. "I guess we shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry."

"No, no! I'm having a good time. I mean mostly. You were right. I need to get out into the world. It's got some nice people in it," she say with a grin. "And some douchebags."

"What happened, anyway? You just ran off. I was worried."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Some aforementioned douchebag grabbed my ass and it just set me off."

"What? Where is he?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's okay."

"It's not okay. No one can grab your ass but me."

She laughs. "Let's get out of here." He bends down and kisses her. She grimaces. "You taste like little baby lobsters."

"Crawfish are not baby lobsters, _cherie_."

"Whatever you say."

They drive back to their beach cabin and they make love. Nori is pretty sure the world makes sense again, more or less. In the morning she tells Remy she thinks she's ready to return to the Brotherhood.

"Tomorrow, perhaps," he says. They spend one more day enjoying the sea air and the sand and each other.

They drive back to Florida. Nori sings along with the radio most of the way back, and when they stop for lunch, she makes it through the meal calmly (with the help of the traces of Xanax still in her system). She's not cured, but she's healing.

NOTES: Title is from "Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell. Songs quoted are "A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan and "Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell.


	18. Come Together

Chapter 18: Come Together (Magneto)

He is pleased when Gambit and Echo return. He was fairly confident of their loyalty, but it is always nice to have it confirmed. Besides, he suspects that young Pyro was lonely.

Echo certainly looks much healthier. She's no longer so skeletally thin, her bruises have healed, and she's picked up a tan. Most pleasingly, Echo's mental signature feels confident and calm. Gambit was right.

At dinner, Pyro is clearly happy to see Gambit and Echo, though he tries to pretend otherwise. Echo makes no such effort, and she beams when she sees him. "Hey Pyro! I missed you!"

"Uh, yeah. You too," he says.

She reaches in her pocket. "We got you a lighter. Did you know that Louisiana is the Pelican State?"

He looks surprised. "Thanks. That's cool."

"So, Pyro. What have you guys been up to the last couple weeks?"

Pyro shrugs. "Practicing with Magneto. Learning how to make bombs."

"Oh. Cool."

After dinner, Gambit seeks out Magneto and tells him that Wolverine found them. He details their encounter, and Magneto nods.

"Good. He should have that information." He considers the message Charles is sending him. He's still alive. He can find members of his Brotherhood whenever he wants. But he's not choosing to engage them in combat. Not surprising. Charles is unwilling to make the first move.

"And how is Echo doing?"

Gambit nods. "Better. She was upset when Wolverine told her about her sister, but I think it is good for her to have closure. I have to be honest, though. I am not sure if she is ever going to be a fighter."

He nods. "I doubt it. It's not in her nature."

Gambit looks at him carefully, and Magneto sighs.

"Don't worry, Gambit. Echo will have a place with the Brotherhood for as long as she likes. And she can continue to train with her ability and perhaps hone her computer skills. But she is a mutant, and will be safe with us."

He nods. "_Merci_, Magneto."

He waves a hand dismissively. "It is no trouble. Is there anything else?"

"No, thank you."

Magneto nods. "Welcome back, Gambit. Please send Echo in to see me."

Gambit registers slight surprise, but nods.

Echo knocks at his door a few moments later. "Come in, my dear," he says.

"Hey, Magneto," she says.

"Welcome back, Echo."

"Thanks. I missed you," she says with a smile.

"Did you?" he asks.

"Well, sure," she says, a bit surprised.

"I was sorry to hear about your sister."

She shrugs. "Thank you. I mean, I... I had pretty much assumed she was dead."

He nods. "But it is one thing to assume, and another to know for certain."

"Yeah."

"I am quite sorry we were unable to rescue her from Stryker in time."

She shrugs. "It's Stryker's fault, not yours or anyone else's."

"Yes, I suppose that's true. Tell me, Echo, are you happy with the Brotherhood?"

"Well, yeah. You guys are like my family."

"So you wish to stay with us?"

"Yes?"

"Is that a question?"

"I suppose it depends on what the conditions are. But yes, I would like to stay." He feels her nervousness.

"I just ask that you follow my rules."

"Um, what exactly are the rules?"

"That you follow orders and that you serve your fellow mutants."

She takes a deep breath. "What kind of orders, Magneto?"

He looks at her seriously. "Echo, I understand that not everyone is meant to be a fighter. It's extremely unlikely that we will ever ask you to hurt anyone. But some time, we may call on you to come into battle with us and use your power to aid us. Would you be willing to do that?"

She drops her eyes for a second, then meets his gaze. "Yes, sir."

He smiles. "Good girl." He extends a hand. "Welcome to the Brotherhood."

"Thank you, Magneto." She hesitates. "I was going to play some songs for Pyro and Gambit. If you want to come listen, we'll just be out in the living room."

"Thank you, my dear." She smiles at him as she walks out the door.

He's happy to have Echo's loyalty. He suspects a softer touch will be necessary with her than with Gambit and Pyro. They require discipline. She requires... empathy. Which, luckily, her gift makes it extraordinarily easy for him to provide. She's an open book to him, and should be easy to keep in line. He decides to go out and listen to her sing. She'll like the attention, and it will promote the feeling of family camaraderie he's constructing for Pyro. Also, it will demonstrate to Gambit that he's concerned for Echo's feelings.

When he steps out into the living room, she's already started singing. There's a tinge of desperation in her voice as she sings:

_Nobody told me there'd be days like these_

_Nobody told me there'd be days like these_

_Nobody told me there'd be days like these_

Strange days indeed

But she feels happy to him. And he watches Pyro and Gambit. Pyro seems more relaxed than he has been in two weeks. And Gambit looks adoring. Echo has clearly worked her way into the heart of the Brotherhood. And she does have a pleasant singing voice.

A war is coming, soon. But in the meantime, he will train his Brotherhood and try to look after them as best he can.

Echo sings:

_We come on a ship we call the Mayflower,_

_We come on a ship that sailed the moon_

_We come at the age's most uncertain hour_

_And sing the American tune_

_But it's all right, it's all right_

_You can't be forever blessed_

_Still, tomorrow's gonna be another working day_

_And I'm trying to get some rest,_

That's all, I'm trying to get some rest

She puts her guitar away and smiles sweetly. She and Gambit retreat to their bedroom. Pyro picks his copy of _The Autobiography of Malcom X_ off the coffee table and goes upstairs as well. Magneto sits in his office and continues his plan to create a safe place for mutants like those three. Mystique has sent him an email from Washington—not from the senator's official account, of course, but he knows she's working late hours in his office. It's probably just residue from Echo's projections, but he's feeling optimistic.

~ The End~

NOTES: Title is from "Come Together" by The Beatles. The songs quoted are "Nobody Told Me" by John Lennon and "American Tune" by Paul Simon.


	19. Chapter 19

Just FYI, I have started a sequel to this story.

It is called The Hand You're Dealt and you can find it on FFN:

www. fanfiction. net/s/ 6896328/1/

(Without the spaces).

If you liked this story you may also enjoy that one. But if you don't, that is okay by me too.


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